Saturday, December 29, 2007

Illegal Worker Case Against Construction Companies to Continue

Three construction companies hired to complete buildings at the University of Alabama at Birmingham will continue to face charges in a civil lawsuit that accuses the three companies of using illegal immigrants to complete the projects.  The U.S. government has declined to intervene in the suit, but has said that the case should continue and not be settled or dismissed without prior review by the U.S. Attorney General.

The suit was filed by Bradley Barber, a brick and stone mason who worked on the project.  Barber alleges that the construction firms hired illegal immigrants as laborers, paying them less than the prevailing local wages mandated by federal law.  The suit also alleges that by using illegal immigrants and paying them less than minimum wages, the contractors were able to bid lower to win the contracts.

The contracting firms deny any wrongdoing.

Click here to read Russell Hubbard’s article in the Birmingham News about Illegal worker case against UAB construction companies to continue.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Atlanta Hospital Settles Lawsuit

Atlanta’s oldest hospital has settled a false billing suit for $26 million.  Tami Ramsey, a former nurse for the hospital, alleged in a whistleblower lawsuit that the hospital submitted Medicare claims for five years that should have been billed as “outpatient visits” but were instead sent as “inpatient admissions.”

Ramsey will receive $4.94 million for her role in the lawsuit.

The government will dismiss the lawsuit in exchange for the $26 million payment, and St. Joseph’s will be required to enter into a corporate integrity agreement.

Click here to read more about St. Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta Settles False Claims Allegations.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

North Dakota Corp. Settles Kevlar Case

Sioux Manufacturing Corp., a business owned by the Spirit Lake Nation of North Dakota, has agreed to pay $1.9 million to settle a False Claims Act lawsuit.  The company was accused of failing to properly make protective material for military helmets used by soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Federal investigation found that some materials used by the company did not comply with military standards.

The two realtors in the case, former Sioux Manufacturing Corp. employees, will receive $406,350 of the $1.9 million settlement.

Click here to read more about Spirit Lake business settles false claims case.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Road contractor to pay $8.2M settlement

Gohmann Asphalt and Construction Inc. has settled federal allegations that it cheated on samples that it provided for a state highway project between 1997 and 2006. 

The lawsuit was brought forward by whistle-blower Paul Roederer, a former asphalt crew supervisor for Gohmann.  Roederer contended that the state would mark portions of newly laid asphalt for sampling from which a small core would be drawn to check for thickness.  Instead, Gohmann would replace samples that were too thin with some that matched contract specifications.  The fraud was able to take place because the project went unsupervised by state workers.

The company, which does not admit any wrongdoing, will pay $6.7 million to the federal government, $1.1 million to Kentucky, and $362,165 to Indiana.  Roederer will receive $1.1 million for alerting federal authorities.

Click here to read Deborah Yetter’s article in the Indy Star about Road contractor to pay $8.2 settlement.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Stolen Sand Lawsuit Settled in California

California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown announced a $42.2 million dollar settlement agreement with Hanson Building Materials, a multi-national mining corporation that was alleged to have defrauded the state out of millions of dollars in royalty payments for sand mined in Suisun Bays and San Francisco. 

The state had previously issued leases to two companies to dredge sand used to make concrete from state-owned areas in San Francisco and Suisun Bays.  Under the leases, the companies were required to pay the state royalties and were prohibited from dredging sand outside the lease boundaries.

Hanson Building Materials of San Ramon purchased the two companies in 1999, acquiring their mining rights.  In 2003, a whistleblower reported that the company had defrauded the state out of millions of dollars in royalty payments by failing to fully report sand taken from the mining sites.  The companies then transferred sand they mined to affiliated companies at a discounted price where it was resold at market rates to construction firms.  Hanson sold the sand to various companies for an average of $12.50 per cubic yard but reported only an average sale price of $3.30 to the State Lands Commission.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement the defendants will pay the state $42.2 million.  Hanson and the State Lands Commission have agreed to a fixed royalty per cubic yard of sand dredged.  This will result in Hanson paying a higher royalty amount to the state than it paid prior to the litigation which will generate millions of dollars in royalty payments ever year.

Click here to read more about Stolen Sand Lawsuit Settled in California.

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