Middletown Company to Pay $50K to U.S. Government to Settle False Claims Allegations

NXEGEN, LLC, a Middletown-based energy information company, has agreed to pay $50,000 in order to settle allegations that the company violated the False Claims Act and the common law as the result of invoices submitted to the U.S. Department of Energy for work performed pursuant to a cooperative agreement.

In a news release issued Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice alleged that NXEGEN submitted invoiced for unallowable items for payment pursuant to a 2006 agreement between the company and the federal government.

In 2006, the DOE awarded NXEGEN a one-year, $1.8 million cooperative agreement that required a 50/50 cost sharing stipulation. This meant the DOE would provide NXEGEN with $900,000 and NXEGEN would provide the other $900,000 for the purposes of specific projects outlined in the agreement, the news release said.

The agreement was later amended to extend the performance period from September 2008 through September 2009 with an additional $1.876 million added to the agreement. This meant $938,000 from the DOE and another $938,000 from NXEGEN.

In total, the DOE paid NXEGEN $1.838 million pursuant to the cooperative agreement.

During this time, the justice department alleged that the company filed invoices outside the scope of the agreement.

For example, the DOE challenged an invoice that detailed an equipment cost for the retrofitting of lighting fixtures in buildings equipped with NXEGEN’s energy data monitoring system. According to the government, this was beyond the scope of work permitted by the cooperative agreement.  

Apart from the monetary settlement, NXEGEN agreed to create a compliance program that will be acceptable to the DEO. As an example, the company said it will designate an in-house ethics program director who will provide NXEGEN employees with DOE-approved training on federal laws and regulations.

The company also agreed to establish written policies and procedures that will facilitate the company’s recording and tracking of accounting costs related to federal contracts and financial assistance awards or agreements. 

The company also has agreed to voluntarily refrain from participating in federal financial assistance opportunities for a nine-month period.