UPS Defrauded Federal & State Governments - Settles Qui Tam Case for $25.7 million

ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Wu, Grohovsky & Whipple, PLLC ("WGW"), a boutique law firm regularly representing qui tam whistleblowers in large federal and state False Claims Act cases, today announces that a federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia has approved a settlement by which international shipper United Parcel Service ("UPS") has agreed to pay in excess of $25 million to resolve allegations that UPS routinely falsified delivery records regarding federal and state government packages for years.

The case was brought by former UPS employee and WGW client, Robert Fulk, on behalf of the United States, nineteen states, the District of Columbia and the cities of Chicago and New York.  In the settlement approved today, UPS will pay the federal government $25 million and an additional $740,000 to the State of New Jersey.  Close to 85% of that money will be returned to federal and New Jersey taxpayers. Claims involving the remaining states and cities allege millions of dollars in damages and remain in litigation.

"This is a fantastic victory for our client, Mr. Fulk, who had the courage to stand up and report this fraud by UPS," said Julie Grohovsky, a partner at WGW.  "Thanks to his efforts, millions of dollars in wrongfully obtained tax payer money will be returned to the federal and state governments."

The qui tam case brought by Mr. Fulk and WGW alleges that UPS fraudulently obtained payment for delivery services not actually performed through a variety of actions, including entering false delivery times into its tracking system to make it appear that packages were delivered on time to government customers, when they were not.  UPS also misrepresented to its government customers that fake or erroneous reasons caused delays in service, including false reports that government customers had requested later deliveries when they had not.  These fraudulent actions allowed UPS to avoid paying millions of dollars in service refunds for late deliveries to federal and state governments.

Shanlon Wu of WGW added, "We are proud to help courageous people like Robert Fulk expose complicated schemes to defraud the government.  After years spent sorting through this case, we are satisfied that justice has been served."

UPS's settlement with the United States and New Jersey was finalized on May 4, 2015.  Litigation continues between UPS and the remaining states, including the states of New York, California, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Tennessee, the District of Columbia, and the cities of Chicago and New York.

About Wu, Grohovsky & Whipple, PLLC

WGW is an established national firm based in Washington, D.C.  WGW is comprised of former federal prosecutors and fortune 500 corporate lawyers.  The firm's practice includes qui tam, criminal defense, corporate transactions, and college student defense.

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SOURCE Wu, Grohovsky & Whipple, PLLC

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