Universal Concrete settles False Claims Act case with feds

Sources: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia and U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria; CP staff

Universal Concrete Products Corp. and Donald Faust, Jr., president and co-owner, have agreed to pay $1 million to settle allegations that the Stowe, Pa., producer oversaw submission of falsified precast panel mix test records under a Dulles Metrorail Project Phase II, or Silver Line Extension, contract in northern Virginia. 

On behalf of the U.S. Department of Transportation, which administered project funds, and the Commonwealth of Virginia, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia filed a civil complaint alleging False Claims Act violations by UCP and former Quality Control Manager Andrew Nolan. The latter pleaded guilty in December 2018 to falsifying air content measurements for precast panels erected along Silver Line Extension stations.  

Government claims are based on a 2016 whistleblower suit by Nathan Davidheiser, a former UCP quality control employee who reportedly observed Nolan altering test records to reflect compliance with panel mixes’ 4.5-7.5 percent air content requirement. It was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia under False Claims Act and Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act provisions that allow private individuals to file suit on behalf of the government and net whistleblowers a share of recoveries. Davidheiser continues to pursue retaliatory discharge and wrongful termination claims against UCP.

 

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