FEBRUARY 8. 2024. Merrill Technologies Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries, Merrill Tool and Machine, Inc. (MTM), Merrill Fabricators, Inc., Merrill Engineering & Integration, Inc., Merrill Aviation and Defense, Inc. (collectively, Merrill Technologies Group) will pay $5,000,000 to resolve claims that MTM listed falsely inflated its costs in a proposal for a subcontract to work under a contract with the U.S. Department of the Army. The qui tam case was brought by a whistleblower, who will receive 18% of the settlement amount for their efforts.
In 2006, the U.S. Army’s Tank Automotive Command (TACOM) entered into a sole-source agreement with a prime contractor in which the contractor agreed to manufacture and perform upgrades to the Army’s armored vehicles. Four years later in 2010, the prime contractor entered into a subcontract with MTM to assist with work on the main Army contract. In order to do so, MTM submitted a subcontract proposal to the prime contractor, who relied on the proposal to negotiate the final contract with TACOM. The government alleged that MTM’s proposal overstated their prices, causing the prime contractor to create the final contract with TACOM based on inflated and untrue costs. TACOM was subsequently overcharged due to MTM’s false statements, violating the False Claims Act.
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan spoke out against MTM’s actions, stating that “Government contractors must be completely above board when seeking payment under government contracts … This settlement demonstrates our commitment to hold accountable contractors who cause the Government to overpay, and who enrich themselves at taxpayer expense.”
The settlement was brought about due to the valuable information the whistleblower, Chad Sibley, provided under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. Sibley will receive a $900,000 award for his participation in the case.
If you would like to report government contracting fraud, you can contact attorneys at Tycko & Zavareei LLP. Eva Gunasekera and Renée Brooker are former officials of the United States Department of Justice and prosecuted whistleblower cases under the False Claims Act. Renée served as Assistant Director at the United States Department of Justice, the office that supervises False Claims Act cases in all 94 United States District Courts. Eva was the Senior Counsel for Health Care Fraud. Eva and Renée now represent whistleblowers. For a free consultation, you can contact Renée at [email protected] (tel.: 202-417-3664) or contact Eva Gunasekera at [email protected]. You can also go to Tycko & Zavareei LLP’s website for whistleblowers to learn more at https://www.fraudfighters.net.