by Ben Vernia | February 17th, 2014
On February 7, the Department of Justice announced that Sanborn Map Co., which provided maps for supply convoy routes in Iraq, among other services, had agreed to pay $2.1 million to settle allegations, originally brought by a whistleblower, that the company defrauded the government. According to DOJ’s press release:
Sanborn Map Company Inc. has agreed to pay $2.1 million to the U.S. government to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims in connection with U. S. Army Corps of Engineers contracts, the Justice Department announced today. Sanborn, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., provides photogrammetric mapping and geographic information system services.
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From 2005 to 2011, Sanborn contracted with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to produce maps for U.S. convoy routes in Iraq, Marine Corps bases in the U. S. and other military and civilian projects. Allegedly, in an effort to save money, Sanborn used unapproved foreign subcontractors on three projects, which violated contractual obligations and caused delays on these projects. Sanborn also allegedly used unapproved domestic subcontractors when Sanborn was required to complete all map work in-house and charged unrelated work to the government contracts.
The government added that the share of the recovery that the whistleblower – a former Sanborn employee – will receive has not yet been determined.
