Kickbacks for government contracts in the IT world, involving Sun, Hewlett-Packard, and Accenture.
The lawsuits, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, allege that the three companies submitted false claims to the U.S. government on “numerous” government contracts since the late 1990s. The lawsuits, originally filed by Accenture employee Norman Rille and another whistleblower, accuse the companies of creating alliance relationships with dozens of other vendors, giving each other discounts or rebates on products or work for government contracts. The companies did not pass the rebates on to their government clients, according to a DOJ court filing.
“Millions of dollars of kickbacks were sought, received, offered and paid” among the three companies and other technology partners, the DOJ said in a court filing made public Thursday. Any rebates vendors receive as part of a U.S. government contract belong to the government, the DOJ said.
This comes at a time when the Department of Justice is under siege for politically-motivated prosecutions, lack of organizations, and choosing politics over professional, independent prosecutions in removing and replacing US Attorneys. Tim Griffin, one of Rove’s former aides, was inserted into the Eastern District of Arkansas slot in a highly controversial move. Guess how many of these companies are headquartered in the Eastern District of Arkansas, where Karl Rove’s new hand-picked new US Attorney is based?
None.
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