The Dept. of Justice announced Thurs. that Sprint had agreed to p...
The Dept. of Justice announced Thurs. that Sprint had agreed to pay $5.6 million to settle claims that it had defrauded the General Services Administration (GSA) for 2 years as part of a govt. telecom contract. The payment resolves…
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allegations that between 2000 and 2002 the company knowingly passed through to the govt. costs associated with access charges that were in excess of the amounts Sprint was allowed to assess under the Federal Technology Service (FTS) 2001 contract. At issue are Presubscribed Interexchange Carrier Charges (PICCs) that long distance carriers pay to local telephone companies to reimburse them for the cost of linking into the local phone network to complete calls. The allegations arose from a lawsuit filed by independent telecom specialist John Russo under the whistle-blower provisions of the False Claims Act, which allows private individuals to sue on behalf of the U.S. govt. Russo didn’t work for Sprint or the GSA, according to sources. A Sprint spokesman said the suit stemmed from a disagreement about how the PICC should have been collected and charged back. He said the settlement emphasized that Sprint acknowledged no wrongdoing in agreeing to settle. There were 2 conflicting contract provisions and Sprint followed one and the govt. said the other should have been followed, he said. DoJ said the lawsuit was unsealed Thurs. in L.A. The investigation and settlement were handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in L.A. and the Civil Div. of the Dept. of Justice, with assistance from GSA.