Government Contractor and CEO Settle Civil Fraud Allegations

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Calnet, Inc., a Reston based government contractor and its Chief Executive Officer and President, Kaleem Shah, also of Reston, agreed to pay $300,000 to settle allegations that Calnet and Shah submitted false information in Calnet’s bid proposal to the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) to win an FAA contract for IT help desk services.

The settlement resolves civil claims alleged in a qui tam complaint filed against Calnet and Shah that allege that Calnet misrepresented its past private sector experience in providing help desk services in its proposal to the FAA in 2009 in an effort to win a contract to provide the FAA’s Aviation Safety office with technology support services, including help desk and desk side services throughout North America and at several international sites. FAA awarded the contract to Calnet.

The False Claims Act permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in a portion of the government’s recovery. The civil lawsuit was filed in federal district court in the Eastern District of Virginia.

The resolutions obtained in this matter were the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General.

The matter was investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Roushdy and Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General. The civil claims settled by this False Claims Act agreement are allegations only; there has been no determination of civil liability.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.