IBM and PricewaterhouseCoopers have agreed to pay nearly $5.3 million combined to settle allegations that they made improper payments on government technology contracts, the Justice Department said Thursday.
The False Claims Act suit, which was originally brought by a whistleblower under the qui tam provisions of the Act, alleged that the companies solicited, paid money or provided other benefits to several companies, in violation of federal regulations.
The settlement is part of a larger, ongoing federal investigation of three technology companies – Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems and Accenture – that also have been accused of providing kickbacks to federal consultants to get government tech contracts.
The Dept. of Justice issued a press release on the settlement on August 16, 2007.
Additional information is available in our posting of April 19, 2007.