by Ben Vernia | March 8th, 2012
On March 2, the Department of Justice announced that it had filed suit in the Southern District of Mississippi against the Technological Research and Development Authority, chartered by the State of Florida in 1987 as a “special district,” under the False Claims Act:
The United States has filed a complaint under the False Claims Act against the Florida-based Technological Research and Development Authority (TRDA), the Justice Department announced today. The suit was filed in the Southern District of Mississippi.
The lawsuit alleges that TRDA made false statements to obtain federal grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration (EDA), and knowingly spent grant funds on activities not permitted by the grants. TRDA is a special district of the state of Florida, chartered by the state to aid in the development of opportunities for local small businesses. TRDA is headquartered in Melbourne, Fla.
