In August of 2019, the Department of Justice announced that the former Chief Executive Officer of ADS, Inc., Luke Hillier, agreed to pay a $20 million settlement in connection to False Claims Acts allegations related to fraudulent procurement of small business contracts. The allegations stated that ADS did not qualify as a small business and was therefore ineligible to receive federal contracts that were set aside for small businesses. The national law firm of Baron & Budd represented the whistleblower who came forward with critical inside information about this scheme.

The government alleged that the company falsely represented its status as a small business due to its affiliations with other entities. The DOJ alleged that as a result of this misrepresentation, ADS received numerous small business contracts that it was actually not eligible to obtain. These types of fraudulent schemes harm small business owners who are lawfully trying to do business with the federal government. The Department of Justice is actively seeking to pursue individuals and businesses who defraud the government. Often times, whistleblowers who come forward are the only way to ensure that this type of fraud gets reported and that these businesses and individuals are held accountable.

Reporting Fraud

The Federal False Claims Act (FCA) protects whistleblowers from retaliation from their employers. This means the whistleblower cannot be fired, demoted or denied regular benefits in response or retaliation to reporting fraud. It is recommended that whistleblowers contact an attorney to ensure protection in these cases. When the Department of Justice finds evidence of fraud and pursues the case, the whistleblower typically receives a share of the settlement. 

Contact Baron & Budd

With over 30 years of experience in Qui Tam cases, the attorneys on Baron & Budd’s whistleblower representation team have represented some 70 clients in government fraud cases returning over $5.4 billion to federal and state agencies, with whistleblower recovery shares as high as 49%. They are ready to help if you feel you have the evidence needed in order to pursue a whistleblower lawsuit. Get started by calling or contact us online. Please understand that contacting us does not mean that you have established an attorney-client relationship with Baron & Budd, P.C.