Late last month, the Federal Government settled a lawsuit arising out of an alleged violation of the False Claims Act. The settlement, for $1 million, is with Insight Public Sector, an Arizona-based, Fortune 1000 company focusing in the information technology industry.
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”), with investigative help from the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) and the General Services Administration (“GSA”), filed the lawsuit against the company for falsely claiming small business status when applying to the GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule (“MAS”). In reference to the settlement, SBA Administrator Hector V. Barreto stated, “SBA takes very seriously the issue of false certifications of size status by firms seeking the benefits of government contracting … This should act as a deterrent to such activity.”
The settlement comes about a month after the SBA’s Inspector General’s Office issued a report entitled, “Small Business Procurement Awards Are Not Always Going to Small Businesses.” In the report, the Inspector General’s Office found that the situation was exacerbated by a variety of factors, including inconsistent regulations and inaccurate representations made by contractors regarding size status.
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