While this blog discusses a multitude of issues regarding the right of businesses to damages resulting from economic loss associated with the BP Gulf Oil Spill in 2010, businesses also need to be aware that illegitimate claims can have serious adverse consequences. When a fraudulent claim is asserted, the potential exists for both criminal and civil penalties. The most common form of fraudulent claim in this context involves misrepresentation of the revenue generated by a business prior to and after the Deepwater Horizon explosion.
A federal judge has required Vision Design Management, which is a small family business, to pay restitution in the amount of $2.1 million in claim money. The business filed a claim with the BP settlement fund based on a purported gross income of $821,462 approximately one year prior to the ecological and economic disaster. However, evidence presented in support of a motion for return of the money which was filed by an oil spill claims administrator for BP revealed that the claim was “nearly entirely based on fraud” according to the judge.
The Deepwater Horizon Economic Claims Center contended that the money represented as income by the consulting business that made the claim was not income at all. The judge found the evidence established that $773,000 of the purported income for the business was provided as part of a construction loan borrowed by another business owned by the claimants. According to the court, the funds were not income but rather a “pass through” of payments for the affiliated company’s construction project.
Based on this analysis of the claimed revenue lost by Vision Design Management, the court found that the entire amount of the company’s claim had to be returned. The court pointed out that 92 percent of the alleged revenue was a fiction, so full restitution of the amount received in settlement needed to be disgorged from the consulting business.
Despite these findings, the small business owners maintained that their losses were genuine. The husband member of the husband-wife ownership team indicated that “Vision Design Management was formed in 2007 and was profitable, and [we] worked very hard to make a good business. The oil spill stopped it!”
The massive BP oil spill resulting from the Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010 caused 11 deaths and catastrophic economic and environmental damage. The spill sent millions of gallons of oil spewing into the Gulf for months. The economic toll exacted by this tragedy adversely impacted the business earnings of many companies throughout the gulf-states region. While businesses that had their revenue adversely affected by the BP ecological disaster can submit claims for compensation, this case demonstrates the importance of legal representation to ensure your financial information is persuasive. Although the settlement fund is designed to reimburse those harmed by the spill, claims often are met with denials.
Our Mississippi BP Oil Spill Attorneys recognize the enormous financial impact of this tragedy, and we are committed to pursuing the fullest compensation for our clients. At Barrett Law, PLLC, we are here to help. Contact our firm today at 800.707.9577 to schedule your free consultation, so we can answer any questions you may have regarding filing your claim.
