Anderson Brothers Construction Company of Brainerd LLC has agreed to a settlement involving payment of $1,295,610 to resolve allegations of violating the False Claims Act and the Minnesota False Claims Act from 2017 to 2022. The company, based in Brainerd, Minnesota, allegedly falsified quality test results of its paving material to make it appear higher quality than it was, submitting these results to the government for compensation on road paving in Minnesota.
Both the United States and the State of Minnesota alleged that Anderson Brothers was required to perform quality tests and submit the genuine results as a condition of payment for federally funded road paving contracts. They accused the company of submitting falsified results to receive additional financial incentives for superior quality material and to avoid penalties for using lower-quality materials. Of the settlement amount, $660,761 will be allocated to the United States, while $634,849 will go to the State of Minnesota.
Lisa D. Kirkpatrick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota, stated, "Protecting taxpayer dollars from fraud and abuse is one of our top priorities. The submission of false claims for federally funded government contracts will not be tolerated." She added that the settlement serves as proof that companies will be held accountable for inaccurate billing.
Special Agent in Charge Anthony Licari of the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, Midwestern Region, commented, "Today’s settlement reinforces the fact that companies doing business with the government must fully comply with federal regulations and contractual obligations."
The claims were initially brought under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Kacie Dixon, a former Bituminous Mix Technician at Anderson Brothers. These provisions allow private parties to file actions on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The case is titled United States ex rel. Dixon v. Anderson Brothers Construction Company of Brainerd, LLC., Civil Action No. 22-cv-02078.
The resolution resulted from cooperation between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota, with assistance from other state and federal offices. Danielle Rowan of the Fraud Section, alongside Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Fuller and Adam Hoskins, handled the investigation.
It should be noted that the settlement resolves allegations only, and no determination of liability has been made.