The Justice Department on Tuesday evening said that a business unit of DRS Technologies has agreed to a $13.7 million settlement to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly over-billing for work on an Army contract.
The Justice Department said the alleged overbilling was done by DRS Technical Services Inc. on the Army’s Communication and Electronics Command Rapid Response contract, which is used to quickly purchase various goods and services needed to support United States military forces in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere. The government also said the settlement applies to “labor mischarging on a similar U.S. Coast Guard contract.”
The Justice Department alleges that the company overbilled the Army for work by personnel who lacked the required qualifications. It also said the work on the Army contract occurred between January 2003 and December 2012, and for the Coast Guard between December 2009 and December 2011.
“Contractors that fail to provide qualified labor as promised are not entitled to bill the government as though they had,” acting assistant Attorney General Joyce Branda said in a statement.
Despite the settlement, the Justice Department said the resolved claims “are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.”
DRS, which is a U.S.-based division of Italy’s Finmeccanica, didn’t comment on the settlement.