2 Whistleblowers To Get Share Of $1.95M False Claims Act Settlement

RESTON, VA — A Reston-based defense contractor agreed to pay $1.95 million in order to settle False Claims Act allegations involving two Air Force contracts, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office release.

Two former Intelligent Waves employees filed a false claims lawsuit against the company under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act. As such, the two whistleblowers will receive a percentage of the $1.95 million settlement.

A news release from Intelligent Waves said it maintains it acted lawfully, transparently, and in good faith. The decision to settle does not reflect any admission of wrongdoing, but rather a practical and strategic business determination made to avoid the time, expense, and disruption of protracted litigation.

“We take immense pride in our longstanding commitment to integrity, accountability, and client service, especially in support of our nation’s most vital missions,” said Tony Crescenzo, CEO of Intelligent Waves, in the statement. “While we believe our actions were always responsible and aligned with applicable guidance, we opted to resolve this civil matter to move forward without the uncertainty and distraction of extended legal proceedings."

The U.S. Attorney accused Intelligent Waves of knowingly making false statements that induced the awarding of the SAPF contract and provided meals and entertainment to Air Force employees before the award of and during the period of performance of the crowd-sourced and SAPF contracts, court records say.

In September 2019, Intelligent Waves, LLC signed a crowd-sourced contract with the Air Force to provide crowd-sourced flight data collection support and data analytics to the 59th Test and Evaluation Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, according to court records.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Intelligent Waves sold equipment to the Air Force that the company knew wasn’t authorized under the crowd-sourced contract. In addition, the contractor submitted invoices to the Air Force portraying the same equipment as authorized equipment under the contract, court records say.

On top of that, Intelligent Waves also knowingly submitted invoices to the Air Force for products and/or labor that the company failed to deliver, court records say. The contractor failed to provide credit to the Air Force for the undelivered products and/or labor. Instead, the company provided substitute products requested by non-procurement personnel.

In November 2020, Intelligent Waves signed a special access program facilities contract with the Air Force to build special access program facilities at Edwards Air Force Base in California, according to court documents.