The United States has filed a complaint in the Western District of New York against YRC Freight Inc., (YRC); Roadway Express Inc. (Roadway); and Yellow Transportation Inc. (Yellow), alleging that these companies systematically overcharged the government for freight carrier services and made false statements to the government that hid their misconduct, the Justice Department announced today.

The United States filed this lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Buffalo, New York. The United States alleges that, for more than seven years, the defendants defrauded the Department of Defense by millions of dollars for shipments that were actually lighter, and thus cheaper, than the weights for which the defendants charged the government. The United States further alleges that the defendants knowingly made or used false statements concealing their overcharging practices to the Department of Defense.

“Those who do business with the government must do so fairly and honestly,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “Knowingly overcharging the government is an affront to American taxpayers, and the Department of Justice will seek to ensure that those who engage in such misconduct are held accountable.”

Specifically, the United States’ lawsuit alleges that the defendants reweighed thousands of shipments and suppressed the results whenever they indicated that a shipment was actually lighter than its original estimated weight. Thus, instead of charging the Department of Defense for shipments based on the correct weight, the defendants knowingly billed the government (and their other customers) based on weights that they knew to be inflated. The defendants also allegedly made false statements to induce the Department of Defense to use them as freight carriers and further knowingly made or used false statements to improperly avoid their obligations to correct inflated invoices and return overpayments.

“When a federal agency, such as the Department of Defense, enters into a service contract with a private corporation or company, the expectation is that the agreement will be administered in good faith,” stated U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy Jr. for the Western District of New York. “In this case, YRC did not legally fulfill its agreed upon obligations to the Defense Department, choosing instead to line its pockets with tax payer’s dollars. Such actions are fraudulent and illegal. This case should serve as a warning to any organization that enters into a contract with the federal government—if you try to rip us off, be prepared to pay a heavy price.”

“This complaint is the result of a successful investigation to identify those who seek to profit by defrauding the Defense Department," stated Leigh-Alistair Barzey, Special Agent-in-Charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Northeast Field Office. "DCIS will continue to investigate procurement fraud allegations, along with its law enforcement partners, in order to protect U.S. military members and the American tax payer."

The original lawsuit in this case was filed by James Hannum under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act. Under the act, private citizens can bring suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in any recovery. The act permits the government to intervene in such lawsuits, as it has done here. Those who violate the act are subject to treble damages and civil penalties.

This matter was investigated by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the United States Army Criminal Investigation Division Command.

The case is captioned United States ex rel. Hannum v. YRC Freight, Inc.; Roadway Express, Inc.; and Yellow Transportation, Inc., Civil Action No. 08-0811(A) (W.D.N.Y.).

The claims asserted in the United States’ complaint are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.