Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced today a settlement agreement with New York Educational Technology Company, LangInnov Inc. (LangInnov). The settlement agreement addressed allegations that LangInnov violated the federal False Claims Act (FCA) by 1) performing research and development funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program outside of the United States, which was expressly prohibited 2) double-booking payroll to both the SBIR program and a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, and 3) not primarily employing its principal investigator as required under the program. LangInnov agreed to pay $50,000 and to forgo $224,634.25 remaining unpaid on an SBIR award to settle these allegations. The settlement was based on LangInnov’s ability to pay.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice