by Ben Vernia | April 15th, 2023
The Department of Justice announced on April 13 that Adobe has agreed to settle kickback allegations — originally brought by whistleblowers — for $3 million. According to DOJ’s press release:
Adobe Inc. has agreed to pay $3 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that it made payments in violation of the Anti-Kickback Act in return for influence over the sale of Adobe software to the federal government.
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The settlement announced today resolves allegations that Adobe made improper payments under its Solution Partner program to companies that had a contractual or other relationship with the government that allowed them to influence federal purchases of Adobe software. Between January 2011 and December 2020, Adobe allegedly paid the companies a percentage of the purchase price of the software. The United States contends that these payments constituted prohibited kickbacks that resulted in Adobe causing false claims for payment to be submitted to federal agencies.
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The three whistleblowers, all former Adobe managers, will share $555,000 (a relators’ share of 18.5%).
