Kansas defense contractor, LaForge and Budd Construction Company, Inc. agreed this week to pay $3 million to settle civil claims over allegations of submitting false claims to the Army at Fort Sill.
U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Downing in Oklahoma City made the announcement, explaining the company had entered into a 2010 contract to do work on a dam on Lake George at Fort Sill in Lawton.
The work included raising the elevation of the dam and required LaForge to perform the work in accordance with the plans and specifications provided in the contract. The United States alleges LaForge submitted false claims for progress payments for work done on the dam’s embankment.
More specifically, LaForge represented that the fill it placed in the embankment of the Dam complied with the specifications, terms, and conditions of the contract when, according to the government’s allegations, unsatisfactory materials such as pieces of concrete, concrete rubble, and metal rebar were placed in the embankment. On April 12, 2019, the United States filed an action against LaForge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, No. CIV-19-336-G.
To resolve these allegations, LaForge agreed to pay $3,000,000 to the United States.
In reaching this settlement, LaForge did not admit liability, and the government did not make any concessions about the legitimacy of the claims. The agreement allows the parties to avoid the delay, expense, inconvenience, and uncertainty involved in litigating the case.