Bad Alchemy: Turning Estimates Into Fraud
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 02.08.06
Building on comments at the Nash & Cibinic Roundtable, David Bodenheimer challenges the oxymoronic trend of government agencies and qui tam whistleblowers to assert defective pricing or false claims based upon second-guessing poor estimates. In his article "'False' or 'Inaccurate' Estimates" published in the December 2005 Briefing Paper (http://www.crowell.com/pdf/Expertise/GovtContracts/BriefingPapers_Bodenheimer.pdf), he explains that estimating -- due to its inherently risky and predictive nature -- requires judgmental forecasts long recognized as appropriate by government pricing guidelines and not suitable for defective pricing and fraud suits complaining about bad estimates of future events.
Insights
Client Alert | 4 min read | 07.31.26
On July 23, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division announced that it will again use targeted Second Request investigations and released a revised Model Timing Agreement, another signal that this Antitrust Division continues to take a more business friendly approach toward merger review. The model introduces an optional “Expedited Consideration” process that gives merging parties the option to address discrete competitive concerns identified by the DOJ before undertaking full Second Request compliance.
Client Alert | 5 min read | 07.28.26
Data Centers in the Crosshairs: The Plaintiffs' Bar Has Begun Filing New Claims Using Old Tricks
Client Alert | 2 min read | 07.24.26
GAO Finds That Challenge to Agency’s Failure to Comply With DFARS Requirement Comes Too Late
