Two companies have paid the United States more than $16.5 million to settle allegations that they systematically overcharged federal and state government agencies in connection with the lease and purchase of desktop telephone systems.
Avaya Inc., a telecommunications company with headquarters in Basking Ridge,New Jersey, early last month paid $13,481,791 to resolve fraud allegations made in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by two former Avaya managers.
Avaya provided desktop phone systems to hundreds of federal and stategovernment agencies and offices. According to the lawsuit, from the mid-1990s through at least 2006, Avaya improperly collected payments for telephone systems and equipment that did not function because necessary components or equipment were missing or no longer on site. Additionally, the lawsuit alleged, Avaya billed governmental agencies for certain telephone systems and maintenance for these systems, even though the systems were no longer in government offices because they had been replaced with upgraded systems.
The second company named in the lawsuit was CIT Group, Inc., a New York based financial services company that last month paid $3,111,400 to resolve allegations in the lawsuit. CIT purchased a portion of Avaya customer base and,according to the lawsuit, continued the same unlawful billing practices after it took over those customer accounts.
