WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Oracle and Oracle America agreed to pay $199.5 million to the U.S. government to resolve a false-claims lawsuit, the Justice Department said.
The settlement, announced Thursday, concerns a 1998 contract in which Oracle agreed to sell software licenses and technical support to federal government entities through the General Services Administration's Multiple Award Schedule program, the department said.
The settlement is the largest False Claims Act settlement obtained by the GSA, Justice Department officials said.
Oracle, based in Redwood City, Calif., develops, manufactures, markets, distributes and services database and middleware software, applications software and hardware systems.
The settlement resolves allegations that Oracle repeatedly failed to meet its contractual obligations to give the GSA full and accurate information about its commercial sales practices, and that Oracle lied to the GSA about its sales practices and discounts, the officials said. The United States alleged that, based on Oracle's actions, it accepted lower discounts and, as a result, paid far more than it should have for Oracle products.
The MAS program streamlines the procurement process for the government and other GSA-authorized purchasers. To be awarded a MAS contract, the broad marketplace access and the administration simplicity that comes from selling to hundreds of government purchasers through one central contract, contractors must agree to disclose commercial pricing policies and practices and to abide by the contract terms.
