Dive Brief:
- FreshPoint Inc., a wholly owed subsidiary of foodservice giant Sysco Corp., overcharged the government in 15 contracts involving the Department of Defense, according to the Department of Justice.
- FreshPoint agreed to pay $4.2 million to settle charges related to hundreds of sales of fruit and vegetables from 2007 through 2009.
- The contracts called for FreshPoint to sell produce at cost plus a specified mark-up. The government claims FreshPoint instead sold goods based on what employees perceived the market price to be.
Dive Insight:
Every story should have a hero. And in this particular story that hero is one Charles Hall. Mr. Hall is a former employee of FreshPoint who exposed the wrongdoing. Under the terms of the the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, Hall gets to share in the proceeds of the settlement. His take? $798,000.
On behalf of taxpayers everywhere, we say "thanks, Mr. Hall. Enjoy the cash."
