Rockntractor
08-30-2012, 11:35 AM
By Michael Isikoff, NBC News
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday accused Gallup Organization, the country's most venerable and best-known political polling firm, of bilking the U.S. government on millions of dollars in federal contracts.
In a federal court filing, DOJ lawyers said they will pursue some of the claims first made in a lawsuit filed by a Gallup whistleblower who accused the polling organization of routinely inflating bills on polling services for the U.S. Mint, the U.S. Passport Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
allup -- a Washington, D.C.,-based company that promotes itself as "the most trusted name in polling" -- did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The announcement comes at an awkward time for Gallup, in the middle of an election season when the company's polls are routinely cited in coverage of the presidential election. (In its latest tracking poll released Wednesday, Gallup has Mitt Romney ahead of President Obama by a 47 to 45 percent margin. http://www.gallup.com/poll/154559/US-Presidential-Election-Center.aspx)
The whistleblower, Michael Lindley, served as director of client services for Gallup from February 2008 until July 2009, when, according to his lawsuit, he was abruptly fired after complaining about the alleged overbillings and threatening to go to the Justice Department if they didn’t stop.
"When you start talking about going to the Department of Justice, I don't trust you anymore," Lindley alleges he was told by the firm's top lawyer, according to a copy of his complaint obtained by NBC News.
In a DOJ press release, Ronald Machen, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said the decision to intervene shows "we will do all that we can to act against those who illegitimately bill the American taxpayers."
Lindley filed his lawsuit under seal in October 2009 as a so-called "qui tam" case that allows private whistleblowers to recover a portion of fraudulent billings that they bring to the U.S. government's attention. HIs complaint, made public for the first time on Wednesday alleges a wide range of improprieties within Gallup -- not all of which were accepted by the Justice Department after a nearly three-year investigation.
Read More>
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/22/13417662-us-sues-gallup-alleging-pollster-overcharged-on-government-contracts?lite
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday accused Gallup Organization, the country's most venerable and best-known political polling firm, of bilking the U.S. government on millions of dollars in federal contracts.
In a federal court filing, DOJ lawyers said they will pursue some of the claims first made in a lawsuit filed by a Gallup whistleblower who accused the polling organization of routinely inflating bills on polling services for the U.S. Mint, the U.S. Passport Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
allup -- a Washington, D.C.,-based company that promotes itself as "the most trusted name in polling" -- did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The announcement comes at an awkward time for Gallup, in the middle of an election season when the company's polls are routinely cited in coverage of the presidential election. (In its latest tracking poll released Wednesday, Gallup has Mitt Romney ahead of President Obama by a 47 to 45 percent margin. http://www.gallup.com/poll/154559/US-Presidential-Election-Center.aspx)
The whistleblower, Michael Lindley, served as director of client services for Gallup from February 2008 until July 2009, when, according to his lawsuit, he was abruptly fired after complaining about the alleged overbillings and threatening to go to the Justice Department if they didn’t stop.
"When you start talking about going to the Department of Justice, I don't trust you anymore," Lindley alleges he was told by the firm's top lawyer, according to a copy of his complaint obtained by NBC News.
In a DOJ press release, Ronald Machen, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said the decision to intervene shows "we will do all that we can to act against those who illegitimately bill the American taxpayers."
Lindley filed his lawsuit under seal in October 2009 as a so-called "qui tam" case that allows private whistleblowers to recover a portion of fraudulent billings that they bring to the U.S. government's attention. HIs complaint, made public for the first time on Wednesday alleges a wide range of improprieties within Gallup -- not all of which were accepted by the Justice Department after a nearly three-year investigation.
Read More>
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/22/13417662-us-sues-gallup-alleging-pollster-overcharged-on-government-contracts?lite