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Florida Procurement Fraud Lawyer

The federal government doesn’t exclusively use government employees to achieve its goals. In fact, federal agencies routinely award contracts to private contractors for goods and services, including everything from weapons systems to office supplies. While many of these contracts are awarded honestly to the most competitive bidder, many contracting companies will do just about anything to obtain a contract, including committing fraud.

Discovering these types of cases can be difficult without insider knowledge. For this reason, the federal government rewards employees and other whistleblowers who come forward to file a claim on behalf of the U.S. under the False Claims Act with as much as 30 percent of any monetary compensation it recovers as a result. To learn more about filing a lawsuit under the False Claims Act, please reach out to our experienced Florida procurement fraud lawyers today.

Government Contracts with Private Industry

The government awards contracts to support basically every function it serves. It is common practice, for instance, for agencies to enter into contracts with private contractors for goods, such as weapons systems, satellites, and even office supplies. These contracts also often involve an exchange of compensation for services, including: disaster relief, administrative services, international shipping, building services, and computers and information technology services.

Fraud in Procuring Government Contracts

Regardless of the type of service or product in question, private companies are prohibited from engaging in conduct at any stage in the contracting process that violates state or federal anti-fraud statutes. This includes prohibitions against:

  • Offering or taking kickbacks in exchange for referrals;
  • Engaging in deceptive pricing practices that inflate the prices of competitors;
  • Using false representations to win contracts, which includes falsely claiming eligibility for contracts that have been set aside for veterans or small businesses;
  • Providing defective or counterfeit parts to government supply chains that could pose a risk to public safety;
  • Failing to provide goods and services as agreed-upon in the contract;
  • Billing for goods and services that were never delivered or rendered;
  • Double billing for services rendered;
  • Charging the government for premium equipment while providing inferior equipment, materials, or products; and
  • Passing unallowable or inflated costs on to the government.

These fraudulent practices are punishable under the False Claims Act, which provides whistleblowers with the opportunity to report employers who engage in contract-related government fraud by filing a lawsuit on the government’s behalf. Whistleblowers are protected under federal law from being fired, demoted, or retaliated against by the employers they report and are also often eligible for a reward of between 15 and 30 percent of any funds recovered by the government in the lawsuit.

Learn More About Filing a Qui Tam Lawsuit

Filing a lawsuit against an employer or other company engaged in deceptive practices can be intimidating. You do not, however, have to go through this process alone, so if you have evidence of government fraud, please call 561-659-7878 to speak with one of the experienced Florida procurement fraud lawyers at Rabin Kammerer Johnson about your legal options.