The Gallup Organization has agreed to pay $10.5 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act and the Procurement Integrity Act for conduct involving several of its federal government contracts and subcontracts. Gallup is a polling and market research firm headquartered in Washington, D.C.
The settlement resolves allegations that Gallup knowingly overstated its true estimated labor hours in proposals to the U.S. Mint and State Department for contracts and task orders that were to be awarded without competition. Because of Gallup’s conduct, the complaint alleged, the two federal agencies awarded Gallup contracts and task orders at falsely inflated prices. The settlement also resolves allegations that Gallup engaged in improper employment negotiations with a then Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) official, Timothy Cannon, in order to obtain a FEMA subcontract at an inflated price and additional FEMA funding after the subcontract had been awarded.
The False Claims Act allegations against Gallup were originally brought in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Gallup’s former Director of Client Services. The False Claims Act prohibits the submission of false claims for government money or property and allows the United States to recover treble damages and penalties for a violation. Under the Act’s whistleblower provisions, a private party may file suit on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery. The United States may elect to intervene and take over the case, as it did here. As a result of the settlement with Gallup, the whistleblower will receive $1,929,363 as his share of the government’s recovery.
For more information on this case, click here: http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2013/July/13-civ-786.html