A settlement has been reached to resolve False Claims Act allegations against Fastenal Company who is accused of knowingly failing to meet its contractual obligations.
This settlement was reached following an investigation of alleged false claims in connection with a General Services Administration (GSA) contract.
The GSA Office of Inspector General learned that Fastenal knowingly failed to meet its contractual obligations to provide the GSA with current, accurate and complete information about its commercial sales practices, including discounts afforded to other customers.
In addition, the United States alleged that Fastenal failed to comply with the price reduction clause of its GSA contract, overcharged government customers, and improperly assessed delivery and sales tax charges on government sales. As a result, the government paid more than it should have for Fastenal products. The settlement also resolves allegations that Fastenal violated the Trade Agreements Act when it knowingly sold products to the United States that were manufactured in countries that do not have trade agreements with the United States, e.g., China.
