A settlement has been reached stemming from a whistleblower investigation alleging that Hewlett-Packard overcharged the U.S. Postal Service during a 10-year contract for computers and services.
The settlement resolved the allegations without a lawsuit and without admission of any wrongdoing.
The contract in question was originally granted to Compaq and was taken over by HP after HP acquired Compaq in 2002.
The Justice Department said it alleged HP overcharged the Postal Service by violating pricing terms of the contract, including a requirement that the company provide prices that did not exceed those offered to other HP customers with comparable contracts.
The department also alleged HP made misrepresentations during contract negotiations regarding its pricing and its plans to ensure it would provide the required most-favored-customer pricing.
