by Ben Vernia | September 23rd, 2012
On September 21, the Department of Justice announced that a subsidiary of Alcatel-Lucent will pay $4.2 million to settle allegations originally brought by a whistleblower that the company defrauded the government in n Iraq war contract.
According to DOJ’s press release:
An Alcatel-Lucent subsidiary, Lucent Technologies World Services Inc. (LTWSI), has agreed to pay the United States $4.2 million to settle False Claims Act allegations that it submitted misleading testing certifications to the Army in connection with the design, construction and modernization of Iraq’s emergency communications system, the Department of Justice announced today. Alcatel-Lucent is a global telecommunications provider.
In March 2004, the U.S. Army awarded LTWSI a $250 million contract to build the Advanced First Responder Network (AFRN), a 911 emergency response and first responder communications system designed to enable Iraqis to summon police, fire and medical assistance in emergencies. Today’s settlement resolves allegations that LTWSI submitted claims for payment for equipment, services and contract performance award fees under the AFRN contract based upon inaccurate certifications that LTWSI, between January and July 2005, had performed and successfully completed certain testing of AFRN radio transmission sites, as well as validation of the network as a whole, to ensure the network’s proper operation prior to acceptance by the United States and transfer to the Iraqi government.
DOJ announced that the whistleblower who originally brought the suit – a former contract manager for the project – will receive $758,000 (a relator’s share of 18%).
