W.W. Grainger Inc., a hardware supply distributor, agreed to pay $70 million to resolve U.S. allegations it submitted false claims under contracts with the General Services Administration and the U.S. Postal Service.
The GSA discovered through an audit that Grainger hadn't given accurate or complete information to government purchasers, causing the U.S. to pay excessive amounts for the company's products, the Justice Department said Wednesday.
The settlement also resolves allegations under the False Claims Act that Lake Forest, Illinois-based Grainger didn't offer discounts as big to the U.S. Postal Service as to commercial customers for sanitation and maintenance supplies, the department said.
"The settlement does not contain any admission of wrongdoing by the company," the company said.
BLOOMBERG NEWS
