GPO Printer Accused of False Claims

WASHINGTON, DC—A False Claims Act lawsuit has been filed by the federal government against a Government Printing Office contractor that allegedly charged nearly $500,000 for work it subcontracted out for $61,000.

According to the Washington Times, the suit also claims Controlled Quality of Bethesda, MD, submitted dozens of false invoices under its GPO contract serving the Internal Revenue Service beginning in 2001. The government’s suit is seeking more than $1.5 million from Controlled Quality for “materially false and fraudulent claims,” the paper reported.

The lawsuit states Controlled Quality promised not to farm out a majority of the work but actually subcontracted another printer to do a bulk of the work. The government claims the company’s owner, Keith O’Brien Slade, submitted vouchers with the notation that his company alone performed the work.

According to the suit, at least 28 “inflated invoices” were submitted. Controlled Quality is now defunct, the paper said.