Alcatel-Lucent's (ALU: Quote) subsidiary, Lucent Technologies World Services Inc. (LTWSI), has agreed to pay the United States $4.2 million to settle False Claims Act allegations that it submitted misleading testing certifications to the Army in connection with the design, construction and modernization of Iraq's emergency communications system, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Friday.
In March 2004, the U.S. Army awarded LTWSI a $250 million contract to build the Advanced First Responder Network or AFRN, a 911 emergency response and first responder communications system designed to enable Iraqis to summon police, fire and medical assistance in emergencies.
The Department said that the settlement resolves allegations that LTWSI submitted claims for payment for equipment, services and contract performance award fees under the AFRN contract based upon inaccurate certifications that LTWSI, between January and July 2005, had performed and successfully completed certain testing of AFRN radio transmission sites, as well as validation of the network as a whole, to ensure the network's proper operation prior to acceptance by the United States and transfer to the Iraqi government.
The settlement resolves a whistleblower suit filed under the False Claims Act in December 2008, by Geoffrey Willson, LTWSI's former contract manager for the project. The False Claims Act permits private parties to sue on behalf of the United States for submission of false claims to the government and to share in any recovery. Willson will receive $758,000 as his statutory share of today's settlement.
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by RTT Staff Writer
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