FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY IN MIAMI TO PAY $11.5 MILLION FOR ALLEGEDLY OVERCHARGING U.S. ENERGY DEPARTMENT

The following press release was published by the US Department of Justice on Feb. 15, 2005. It is reproduced in full below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2005 WWW.USDOJ.GOV CIV (202) 514-2007 TDD (202) 514-1888 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Florida International University (FIU) has agreed to pay $11.5 million to settle allegations that it mischarged costs and overbilled under several contracts and grants with the Department of Energy. The contracts and grants dealt with testing and developing environmental technologies.

As part of the agreement, FIU will also forgo the submission of approximately $1.7 million in additional costs. The improper charging occurred during fiscal years 1995-2003 at FIU’s Hemispheric Center for Environmental Technology (HCET).

"This settlement demonstrates the Justice Department's efforts to ensure that the United States is not overbilled on federal contracts,” said Peter D. Keisler, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division.

The settlement resulted from an investigation by the Civil Division of the Department of Justice and the Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, of the Department of Energy. The investigation resulted from a series of audits conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Office of Audit Services. 05-063

Source: US Department of Justice