APL Antes Up in DoD False Claims Case

APL Ltd. to Pay $9.8 Million to Resolve Alleged False Claims Under the Department of Defense Shipping Contract.

APL Limited has agreed to pay the government $9.8 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act in connection with a contract to provide GPS tracking of shipping containers in Afghanistan, the Justice Department announced today.  APL, an ocean carrier based in Scottsdale, Arizona, is a wholly-owned American subsidiary of Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines Limited. 

The Department of Defense contract required APL to affix a satellite tracking device to each shipping container transported from Karachi, Pakistan to U.S. military bases in Afghanistan when the Department of Defense (DOD) requested the tracking services.  The United States alleges that APL billed the DOD for tracking services despite knowing that the tracking devices completely or partially failed to transmit data, or were not affixed to shipping containers.  The government also claims that APL attached a single satellite tracking device to two shipping containers despite being required to affix one device to every container.

“Today’s settlement demonstrates our commitment to ensure that contractors doing business with the military perform their contracts honestly,” said Principal Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “We will continue to ensure that there are appropriate consequences for those who knowingly fail to live up to their bargain and misuse taxpayer funds.”

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work with our partners to protect the public fisc from government contractors who fail to deliver what they promise,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Brian J. Stretch of the Northern District of California.

“Thanks to the collaborative efforts of many U.S. law enforcement professionals, APL is today being held accountable for their actions,” said Director Frank Robey of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit.  “I applaud all those responsible for their continued pursuit of those who attempt to take advantage of the U.S. military through false claims for services that were not provided.”

The settlement with APL was the result of a coordinated effort among the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch; the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of California, Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit; DOD’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command and DOD’s Defense Contract Audit Agency.

The claims resolved by today’s civil settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.