Morganti Group, Inc. of Danbury, Connecticut has agreed to settle a False Claims Act case with the federal government for $800,000 which accused the construction company of submitting false claims for payment to the U.S. government in connection with two foreign assistance projects. Morganti submitted false documents to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) while bidding for two projects in Jordan: the Greater Amman Water Project in 2000, and the Aqaba Water Project in 2002.
The USAID requires all bidding companies to submit “pre-qualification” documents before it will select the winner of the project. These documents specifically asked Morganti whether it had ever not completed work it had been assigned during the time period allotted. Morganti answered in the negative and was subsequently awarded both contracts. However, it was later revealed that Morganti had been fired by the Bureau of Prisons in April of 1997 for failing to finish work on time. If Morganti had answered truthfully, it would not have been awarded the contract and therefore improperly received payment from the government in violation of the False Claims Act.