DOJ Leverages Government Ethics Statute in Civil False Claims Suit
The DOJ filed a six-count Complaint against a federal contractor, Intelligent Fiscal Optimal Solutions, LLC (iFOS), in the District of Maryland, alleging three violations of the Civil False Claims Act as well as counts for breach of contract, payment by mistake, and unjust enrichment. As alleged, the core predicate misconduct for the FCA counts involved an elaborate iFOS plan to conceal from the DHS the fact that it had engaged a former senior DHS official, as a subcontractor/consultant, who was then subject to a one year “cooling off” ban on agency communications, and had permitted the official to violate that communications ban. iFOS allegedly carried out the subterfuge by, among other things, billing DHS for the time worked by the former official while attributing the time and charge to an iFOS employee.
Source:
