July 25, 2014 — The U.S. government encourages informants to help combat government contractors’ fraudulent billings by bringing a False Claims Act lawsuit. Without conscientious whistleblowers, the government cannot possibly apprehend all of the unscrupulous federal contractors willing to file false claims against the government. To reward tipsters willing to come forward, the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act allow whistleblowers to retain a portion of the government’s recovery received as the result of a successful whistleblower lawsuit.
Virginia Moving Company Allegedly Overbilled U.S. Government For Transporting Household Goods Of Relocated Federal Employees
RE/MAX Allegiance Relocation Services, a Virginia company that manages household moves for federal employees being relocated, will pay more than $500,000 to settle a whistleblower lawsuit. After investigating the allegations made in this False Claims Act case, the government reportedly decided to intervene and take control of the litigation. The tipster in the case is Michael Angel, who formerly worked for RE/MAX. For his share of the government’s settlement, Angel has been awarded $86,667.
The claims related to government contracts with RE/MAX to move the personal property of federal employees who were being relocated from United States locations to other locations in the United States and Canada. The lawsuit alleged that for some moves, the government contractor filed false claims for relocation management services that had not actually been provided. In other relocations, RE/MAX allegedly overbilled government agencies by filing claims for inapplicable tariff rates.
False Claims Act Lawsuits Target Abuse and Waste
It is not possible for government investigators to ferret out every false claim made against the government. But inside employees like the one who filed the False Claims Act lawsuit in this case often learn early-on about fraudulent billing activities. While Waters & Kraus did not handle this particular case, we are handling similar cases. If you have similar claims against a different government contractor, contact us or call our attorneys at 855.784.0268. The qui tam lawyers with Waters & Kraus, like Paul Lawrence in the firm’s Washington D.C.- area office, where the alleged violations by RE/MAX occurred, are committed to protecting whistleblowers’ interests.
Contact us by email or call us at 855.784.0268 to discuss how we can join together to collaborate with the government to stop fraud and abuse.
