TOPEKA, Kan. (Legal Newsline) -- Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has obtained a $132,000 order against a California company that allegedly sent false invoices to Kansas local governments and state agencies.
UST Development Inc., doing business as US-Telecom Inc., allegedly violated the Kansas False Claims Act by sending at least 12 invoices to state agencies and local governments for a purported telecom maintenance agreement.
In a lawsuit filed against UST in October, Schmidt alleged that none of the agencies that received the invoices had any contact or previous dealings with UST prior to receiving the invoices.
"Falsely billing government agencies in an attempt to defraud Kansas taxpayers is a serious violation of the law," Schmidt said Wednesday. "We take seriously our responsibility to guard the public treasury."
Schmidt's lawsuit resulted in a default judgment entered last week. Under the terms of the judgement issued by Shawnee County District Judge Franklin Theis, UST was ordered to pay a $132,000 civil penalty.
The agencies that received the invoices in early 2012 included the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, Ashland School District, Seaman School District, Douglas County, the Department for Children and Families, and the Kansas Governor's Office.