Court fines ex-Universal Concrete QC manager $700K for falsifying records

Sources: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria; CP staff

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia has obtained a $700,567 judgment against Andrew Nolan, a former quality control manager for Pennsylvania-based Universal Concrete Products Corp. The fine follows an August 2018 agreement in which he pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud by falsifying air content test results on the federally funded Dulles Metrorail Project in northern Virginia. 

A consent judgment in U.S. District Court affirms the federal government’s case against Nolan, who during an October 2015–June 2016 window as Universal Concrete QC manager: 

  • Oversaw air content testing for precast panel mixes per contract requirements of Dulles Metrorail Project Phase II, encompassing Reston to Ashburn, Va. Silver Line Extension stations; 
  • Recorded false test results to indicate mixes were within a contract-mandated 4.5 percent to 7.5 percent air content range, and instructed subordinates to likewise record such data; and, 
  • Facilitated and caused submission of falsified records and Universal Concrete invoices to prime contractor Capital Rail Constructors.

Federal False Claims Act violations arose when Capital Rail submitted claims for payment to Metrorail owner, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which in turn sought disbursement of funds from a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan, administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation. 

 

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