Broward County Whistleblower Receives Million Dollar Payday

Weston resident Jason Wolk is the first private citizen to receive a payout under Broward County’s False Claims Act Ordinance. According to the Sun-Sentinel, Wolk, a former controller for USA Parking Associates, was assigned to work on contracts the company held for parking at Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Port Everglades. Bill Bodenhamer, Jr., a member of the Downtown Development Authority is the founder of Ft. Lauderdale-based USA Parking. Nashville-based Central Parking Corp. is the parent company of USA Parking.

According to the lawsuit filed by Broward County, Wolk discovered that USA Parking had allegedly been submitting falsified invoices to Broward County seeking reimbursement for insurance policies that had never been purchased. According to the county, USA Parking allegedly submitted $47 million of fictional insurance invoices over a 5 year period.

USA Parking and its parent company denied the allegations but agreed to settle the lawsuit for $6 million. The whistleblower will receive $1,008,000 of the settlement amount as his reward under the False Claims Act Ordinance.

Subsequent to approving the settlement, Broward County commissioners did not renew the airport contract that USA Parking has held for the past 16 years. The contract expired this month.