VJ Associates, a Hicksville, N.Y., estimating consultant, has agreed to pay $3.13 million in civil and criminal penalties to settle charges that the firm overbilled and falsified hours on multiple federal and state government-funded transportation and other contracts in New York and Massachusetts, the U.S. Attorney's office in Boston announced on Oct. 29.
在2007年至2018年之间,滥收费方案projects funded by the U.S. Transportation Dept., New York and Massachusetts agencies, and the Port Authority of NY and NJ, generated about $1.2 million in over payments.
“VJ Associates defrauded government-funded infrastructure projects by billing for bogus hours,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling in an Oct. 29 statement. “Our office is committed to protecting ... the integrity of federally funded infrastructure programs."
The projects VJ Associates falsely billed for included the MBTA Charlestown Bus Facility, renovations at Taunton State Hospital, and the Massport Hanscom Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting Facility for the Massachusetts Port Authority. The firm, which provided subcontracted estimating and scheduling services, "badly" overbilled PANYNJ, said the US Attorney's office.
A spokeswoman said the office could not comment further.
在联邦法院的认罪中，新英格兰，新泽西州和华盛顿特区的VJ同事和部门同意向美国和州政府支付530,000美元的刑事罚款和260万美元的民事罚款和赔偿。它也是与政府机构开展业务的脱颖而出的。
根据Dun＆Bradstreet上市的数据，该公司的收入约为600万美元，由Vijay Desai于1984年成立。
Queries to several firm executives were not responded to. The company’s website is dismantled.
根据《虚假索赔法》，公民解决是由举报人的诉讼引起的。
在纽约分会的美国建筑师学院成员的列表中，该公司被描述为经认证的MBE/DBE承包商。
根据美国检察官办公室的说法，“在管理层的压力下，员工公开讨论了不当帐单为“榨汁”和“标记”小时，以“最大化”政府项目的账单，而不是“将钱放在桌子上”。新利18备用网址一位员工将他的计费习惯总结为他的同事作为“壳游戏”。“
According to the AIA listing, VJ Associates has a full time staff of about 70 cost estimators, project managers, schedulers and support personnel and has offices in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Washington DC. It also is cited as a K-12 school project specialist.
