Contractor Fined for Placing Unqualified Individual in charge of Internal Audit Department

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a settlement with a DOE contractor who agreed to pay $5 million to resolve a couple of issues including a charge that it billed the Government for internal audit work by an individual that had no auditing experience and failed to provide any meaningful oversight of the Audit Department.

The government also alleged that WRPS charged the government for auditing work that was not performed. WRPS allegedly installed as the head of the contractually required Internal Audit Department for the first three years of the Tank Farms contract its own general counsel, who allegedly had no auditing experience and failed to provide any meaningful oversight of the Audit Department. The government alleged that this knowing violation of an important safeguard in the contract enabled the extensive timecard fraud.

When WRPS was awarded the DOE "Tank Farm" contract in 2008, it was advised by law enforcement of specific concerns about systemic timecard fraud being committed by the previous contractor, many of whose employees and procedures were retained by WRPS. However, WRPS made no actual changes to the timekeeping procedures at the Tank Farms for nearly five years and did not take steps until after July 2013, to curtail the prior fraudulent practices. As a result, the Government alleged that WRPS knowingly charged DOE for overtime for busy work or for work that was not actually performed and premium emergency call-in pay that was not authorized by the contract.

To settle these two issues, WRPS agreed to pay $5,275 million. The claims resolved by the settlement are, of course, allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.

You can read the full DOJ press release here.