Inchcape to Pay $20 Million to Settle Lawsuit Claiming it Overbilled U.S. Navy for Ship Husbanding – gCaptain
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A British-based maritime services company has agreed to pay $20 million to resolve allegations it overbilled the U.S. Navy for goods and services provided to American warships at ports around the world, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday.
Privately held Inchcape Shipping Services Holdings Ltd and some of its subsidiaries provided U.S. Navy ships with waste removal, telephone access, ship-to-shore transportation, security and other services at ports in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, the Justice Department said in a statement.
A lawsuit charged that between 2005 and 2014 Inchcape knowingly submitted invoices to the Navy overstating the goods and services actually provided, the Justice Department said in announcing the settlement.
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The lawsuit was brought under whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by three former senior employees of Inchcape, said Janet Goldstein, one of their attorneys. The former Inchcape employees included a retired Navy Reserve intelligence officer and a former FBI special agent.
The lawsuit said the whistleblowers resigned after bringing the allegations of overbilling to the attention of the company’s chief executive, only to be rebuffed in their effort to stop the practice. They contacted the FBI in 2009 and helped to gather evidence, their attorneys said.
Under provisions of the False Claims Act that allow private citizens to share in funds recovered, the three whistleblowers will receive about $4.4 million, the Justice Department said.