November 28, 2023. The Department of Defense requires contractors to comply with the Buy American Act, the Trade Agreements Act, and the Berry Amendment when selling products to the government. Despite these regulations, London Bridge Trading Company, Ltd. (LBT) marketed their allegedly foreign-made goods as “100% made in America,” and sold them to government agencies through the “GSA Advantage!” website. A recent settlement of $2.1 million was reached to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these regulations. The whistleblower or relator who filed a qui tam lawsuit is the mother of a soldier who was killed while serving in Iraq. Under the False Claims Act, the whistleblower is entitled to 15-25% of the government’s recovery.
According to the allegations, LBT falsely replaced original foreign manufacturers’ tags with tags that read “Made in USA.” Court documents allege that the company sold textile-based products such as clothing, armor, boots, belts, bags, rope, slings, backpacks, and medical pouches that were actually manufactured in foreign countries since 2008. This deceptive practice violated the Buy American Act, the Trade Agreements Act, and the Berry Amendment.
The relator believed the scheme was a “threat to the safety and integrity of US military operations,” and as a result, filed a complaint under the False Claims Act. The False Claims Act allows individuals with knowledge of fraud against the government to file lawsuits on the government’s behalf. These lawsuits are known as qui tam actions, and the individual filing the lawsuit is called a relator. The relator shares in any recovery obtained by the government, or a portion of the $2.1 million settlement in this case.
Regarding the seriousness of violating the Buy American Act, Trade Agreements Act, and Berry Amendment, the Special Agent in Charge, Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, Major Procurement Fraud Field Office said about this case: “Companies that do business with the government must comply with all of their obligations, and if they seek to circumvent the rules and regulations of what and how they supply our women and men in uniform, they must be held accountable for their actions.”
The False Claims Act has been a powerful tool for combating fraud against the government. In Fiscal Year 2022, the Department of Justice recovered over $1.9 billion in settlements and judgments from qui tam lawsuits reporting fraud against the government. The False Claims Act qui tam provisions are particularly effective because they incentivize individuals with knowledge of fraudulent activity to come forward and assist in the government’s investigation.
If you would like to report government contracts 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 www.fraudfighters.net.