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Whistleblower Receives Over $10.9 Million For Exposing Fraudulent Practices By Government Suppliers

Ohio-based RPM International Inc. and its subsidiary, Tremco Inc., have paid $60.9 million to resolve allegations that Tremco filed false claims in connection with two multiple award schedule (MAS) contracts with the General Services Administration (GSA) for roofing supplies and services.

Tremco failed to provide the government with price discounts provided to non-federal government customers. Tremco also allegedly marketed expensive materials to government purchasers without disclosing the availability of the same materials at lower cost that were manufactured and sold by the company.  Tremco is a manufacturer of construction products and services and is a subsidiary of the RPM Building Solutions Group.

Allegedly, from January 2002 to March 2011, Tremco knowingly violated its contractual obligations to provide GSA with current, accurate and complete information about its commercial sales practices, to report changes in discounts to comparable commercial customers and to pass those discounts on to government customers.  As a result, the government allegedly paid more than it should have for Tremco’s services and products.   In addition, Tremco allegedly improperly marketed generic products as a superior line of the same product and used a defective adhesive formula in its roofing systems.

The GSA MAS program provides government purchasers with a streamlined process for procurement of commonly used commercial goods and services.  To be awarded a MAS contract, and thereby gain access to the broad government marketplace and ease of administration that comes from selling to hundreds of government purchasers under one contract, contractors must agree to disclose commercial pricing policies and practices.

The settlement resolves a whistleblower lawsuit filed on behalf of the government by a former Tremco vice president, who will receive more than $10.9 million as his share of the recovery in the case.

For more information on this case, click here:  http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2013/August/13-civ-968.html

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