On November 12, 2013, the United States Department of Justice, as well as several state Attorneys General offices, announced that they would be settling a whistleblower lawsuit against CA Technologies, Inc., brought against the latter by one of its former employees, Ann Marie Shaw. The settlement involves the United States, California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York (City of and State of), Nevada, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The settlement totals $11 million. The United States Department of Justice will receive $8 million, and the remaining $3 million settlement amount will be divided amongst the aforementioned states and the District of Columbia. California will receive the sum of $983,807.00; New York will receive the sum of $708,795.00; Illinois will receive the sum of $426,641.00; Florida will receive the sum of $327,416.00; Virginia will receive the sum of $227,583.00; Massachusetts will receive the sum of $204,639.00; Nevada will receive the sum of $73,794.00; the District of Columbia will receive the sum of $35,346.00; and Hawaii will receive the sum of $25,734.00.
CA Technologies, Inc., is a Fortune 500 company located in Islandia, New York. CA Technologies is an independent software company that has a significant global presence, with offices all around the world. It produces primarily products related to business-to-business mainframe computing and distributed infrastructure applications.
Ms. Shaw filed what is known as a qui tam lawsuit against CA Technologies in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in 2006. Ms. Shaw worked for the company for several years—from 2003 through 2006. She was a Technical Sales Specialist and specialized in software product license sales to the United States. The Complaint alleged that CA Technologies was liable under the federal False Claims Act, as well as various state false claims acts, to the United States, California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Nevada, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, for fraudulent billing practices. According to the Complaint, beginning no later than July 2003, CA Technologies defrauded its government customers by processing renewals of software maintenance servicing plans improperly. CA Technologies renewed the plans as of the date of the renewal order rather than as of the date of the expiration of the current software maintenance plan. This billing practice created millions of dollars of overbilling, charged the Complaint. The Complaint details numerous specific examples regarding this improper renewal process, with government clients ranging from the United States Department of Defense to the City of Santa Monica to the Hawaii Department of Public Safety.
The Complaint also alleged that CA Technologies defrauded the United States Department of Defense by encouraging it to purchase software it had already paid for from third-party vendors. Beginning in 1998, the United States purchased large blocks of software licenses from software manufacturers, including CA Technologies resulting in a substantial inventory of pre-paid software licenses. When Department of Defense employees inquired to CA Technologies about software needs, rather than informing the Department of Defense employees that the software they were seeking was already purchased as part of the pre-paid inventory, CA Technologies employees directed the Department of Defense to third-party vendors to purchase the identical CA Technologies software.
If you are an employee and find yourself in a situation in which you have raised complaints about practices by your employer and are facing retaliation as a result of the same, Barrett Law, PLLC can help you understand your rights and the protections to which you may be entitled. We have a long history of protecting the rights of whistleblowers. Contact us today at (800) 707-9577 to schedule an initial consultation.