Date: Oct 20, 2014 Author: Dan Packel Source: Law360 (
click here to go to the source)
Pennsylvania-based thermal technology manufacturer Thermacore Inc. has agreed to a $965,000 settlement to resolve False Claims Act allegations under a federal government small business innovation program, the U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced Monday.
The government contended that a technology company since acquired by Thermacore submitted multiple project applications to both the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the U.S. Air Force under the Small Business Innovation Research program. It emphasized that these duplicated applications and the verifications associated with them constituted false statements to the government.
Thermacore denied the allegations, according to the government.
"It's a bit of a unique case since it came from the agencies," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Veronica Finkelstein. "We were presented with a case that was a bit more packaged and more complete than usual."
According to Finkelstein, NASA initiated the inquiry into the applications filed by K Technology Corp. in 2007. The company, which was acquired by Thermacore in 2009, submitted a proposal to NASA on Sept. 4, 2008, and then sent a duplicate to the Air Force on Sept. 28 of that same year.
Under the SIBR program, both NASA and the Air Force mandate that the same or essentially equivalent research may not be funded by more than one agency. Consequently, submissions under the program must be certified as being non-duplicative.
Finkelstein emphasized that the investigation launched by NASA and then joined by the Air Force illustrated the focus on participant self-policing under the SBIR program.
"This is not a case that came to us through a qui tam filing," she said.
She said that the case, which was settled without a formal complaint being filed, had been in the hands of the U.S. attorney's office since at least January 2013, when she began working on it.
Under the parties' settlement agreement, which was signed on Oct. 9, Thermacore will pay $500,000 to the United States. An additional $465,000 will be directed toward ongoing compliance efforts by Thermacore. According to the U.S. attorney's office, the company has already initiated an upgrade to its Ethics and Compliance Program.
A representative for Thermacore did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The government is represented by assistant U.S. attorneys Veronica Finkelstein, Lewis Lappen and Margaret Hutchinson.
Thermacore is represented by John Dodds and Zachary Johns of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP.
