The former CEO and CFO of Louis Berger Group Inc. have been hit with a government contractor fraud lawsuit alleging numerous counts of billing fraud.

The government contractor fraud lawsuit was filed in Maryland federal court, following earlier criminal convictions alleging they overbilled federal government reconstruction contracts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The former executives had reportedly designed and led various billing scams, which had produced severely inflated bills for the U.S. Agency for International Development and U.S. Department of Defense to pay.

According to the government contractor fraud lawsuit, these bills allegedly consisted of inflated rates for indirect overheard costs for construction contracts. The defendants reportedly did this by spreading out indirect costs across of the company’s contracts, including employees’ salaries, building rent, and office supplies.

The government contractor fraud lawsuit stated these and other costs had shifted onto federal construction contracts, in order to increase the overhead cost of the federal contracts “in order to get a higher rate.”

This alleged false billing scam allegedly affected several Iraq and Afghanistan reconstruction contracts, with the Louis Berger Group Inc. receiving millions it was not eligible for.

“Defendants cannot dispute that they defrauded the United States in this manner. [B]oth defendants and a co-conspirator, [former LBG accounting manager], have pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the government with respect to claims for contract payments billed intentionally inflated overhead rates,” the government contractor lawsuit stated.

Overview of Government Contractor Fraud Lawsuit

Whistleblower Harold S. had been a former accountant at Louis Berger Group Inc., and is the original source of the lawsuit. Like other individuals who file a whistleblower lawsuit, Harold may be eligible for 15% to 30% of whatever settlement may come of the claim in order to encourage other witnesses of fraud to come forward.

Harold stated he was “very pleased” that the United States government is pursuing the case, and is hopeful that the government and taxpayers are sufficiently compensated.

According to the government contractor fraud lawsuit, Harold had worked at Louis Bergrer Group from 2002 to 2005 and had reportedly quit due to disagreeing with the company’s billing actions.

Harold’s occupational duties included preparing the false cost submission and overheard rate forms, which were submitted to the government during that period of time and under the orders of the former CEO and CFO. Harold had filed this claim originally in 2006, but was confidential until May 2016 when the United States government decided to pursue the whistleblower case.

At this time the government is not asking for a specific amount in the government contractor lawsuit, stating the damages it sustained will be determined at trial. The government will also be seeking civil penalties, along with the whistleblower charges.

This Government Contractor Fraud Lawsuit is Case No. 8:06-cv-01970, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.