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Contractor's Report to OIG Insufficient to Trigger Public Disclosure Bar

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 03.27.14

In U.S. ex rel Saunders v. Unisys Corp. (E.D. Va.), the court found that the relator's FCA claim was not precluded by the public disclosure bar despite the defendant providing its internal investigation report to OIG because (1) the report failed to reveal allegations or transactions creating an inference of fraud (its conclusion that the alleged fraudulent billing practices were "unacceptable" was not enough) and (2) it was made available only to the DOD IG and the government agency overseeing the contract and not the general public.


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Client Alert | 3 min read | 04.14.26

DOJ’s False Claims Act Resolution Against IBM Signals Heightened Risk for Federal Contractors with DEI Programs

On Friday, April 10, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) has agreed to pay just over $17 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by failing to comply with federal anti-discrimination requirements incorporated into its federal contracts due to allegedly discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) employment practices. This resolution marks the first FCA settlement secured by the DOJ under its Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, created in May 2025, and announced by then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as part of the administration’s coordinated efforts to target allegedly unlawful DEI practices. Per the agreement, the settlement is neither an admission of liability by IBM nor a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded....