$250K Settlement: Hayward Company Agrees To Payment

HAYWARD, CA — A Hayward-based technology company agreed to pay a quarter-million dollars to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by allegedly providing unapproved equipment for the BART Silicon Valley extension project, U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey said Monday.

HSQ Technology, a subsidiary of RailWorks Corporation, provided network communications equipment to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority's Silicon Valley BART extension project.

As part of the settlement with prosecutors, HSQ acknowledged that it purchased some network communications equipment from unauthorized distributors not approved by the VTA. The company also acknowledged that it submitted eight claims for payment of purchases of equipment between 2015 and 2016 for which it lacked documentation confirming that it had come from an authorized distributor. Each of these claims sought payment from federal funding.

"Contractors or subcontractors that receive federal funds must be truthful about the goods they are supplying and whether they meet contract requirements," said Ramsey in a statement released by his office about the case.

The VTA's project to expand BART will likely be finished by May 2037 and is projected to cost at least $12.75 billion, according to officials. Pre-construction began in late April.

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