A settlement has been reached in a whistleblower class action lawsuit brought against LB&B Associates Inc who is accused of made false statements to obtain contracts through the Small Business Administration.
The whistleblower will recover a total of $1.5 million of the settlement.
Originally filed in 2007, the United States alleged that in seeking certification under SBA’s 8(a) Program, LB&B falsely represented that Lily Brandon – who satisfied the criteria for a socially and economically disadvantaged person under the program – controlled the operations of LB&B, when she did not. Securing 8(a) certification allowed LB&B to obtain 8(a) set aside contracts from various government agencies. Throughout the performance of these contracts, Lily Brandon allegedly failed to exercise actual control over LB&B’s operations, a key component to qualifying for the set aside contracts.