The whistleblower, a business competitor of the allegedly dishonest importer, received a $286,000 whistleblower reward. Industrial tools firm King Kong Tools has paid $1.9 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit alleging it transshipped Chinese merchandise through Germany—fraudulently redesignating them as German origin—to circumvent applicable customs duties. Whistleblower China Pacificarbide—which competes with King Kong…
The former logistics staffer who reported the import-duty evasion will receive a $152K whistleblower reward. An importer of Chinese-manufactured ready-to-assemble furniture sold through such retailers as Walmart and Wayfair has paid $798,334 to resolve whistleblower claims it fraudulently used undervalued commercial invoices to reduce its import-duty obligations. A former employee…
Former employees who blew the whistle on the duty evasion will share a $500k whistleblower reward. ADCO Industries, a Texas-based importer of industrial products, has agreed to shell out $2.5 million to end a whistleblower lawsuit alleging it knowingly undervalued merchandise from China to fraudulently reduce its customs duties. Two…
Former Yakima employee to receive $500k False Claims Act whistleblower reward. Yakima Products, a maker of automobile accessories such as hitches and roof racks, will pay $3 million to resolve a whistleblower lawsuit alleging it knowingly underdeclared its customs duties and misdeclared the country-of-origin of its imports. The qui tam…
Customs-Fraud Whistleblower receives $115K Award. Drug distributor Danco Laboratories has agreed to pay $765,000 to resolve a federal whistleblower lawsuit alleging it violated the False Claims Act by failing to pay marking duties on products it imported from China without country-of-origin labels. Imports are required to be labeled with their…
Coyne Public Relations of New Jersey allegedly applied for and obtained a forgivable PPP loan despite its ineligibility. Coyne Public Relations, a New Jersey public-relations firm, has paid $2.24 million to the federal government to resolve a whistleblower case alleging that it knowingly applied for and received a forgivable loan…
A former billing manager brought the misconduct to the attention of the Justice Department by filing a False Claims Act lawsuit. Medical-testing firm Genotox Laboratories of Austin, Texas has agreed to pay $5.9 million to resolve allegations it violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act by paying volume-based commissions…
Three Adobe employees filed False Claims Act lawsuits exposing the scheme and will share a $555K whistleblower reward. Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) has agreed to pay $3 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by paying illegal kickbacks to software-reseller partners in return for their promotion…
In separate lawsuits, the government alleged that two for-profit education companies defrauded a tuition assistance program for military veterans. Two for-profit educational organizations will pay a combined $9.5 million for defrauding the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Post-9/11 GI Bill program in violation of the False Claims Act. A federal…
A postdoctoral research staff member discovered the fraud and filed a whistleblower lawsuit under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. New York City public university Hunter College and the former director of its HIV studies center have agreed to pay a combined $575,000 to settle allegations they…