GSA announces settlement in liability case

The General Services Administration’s Office of Inspector General has announced a $2.55 million settlement by GovConnection and its predecessor, ComTeq Federal Inc.GovConnection did not admit liability in connection with the settlement payment, GSA said in a statement released today.GSA had said the companies overcharged federal agencies that purchased information technology under a multiple-award schedules (MAS) contract. The allegations also state that they failed to pay GSA its full funding fee in connection with sales made under the contract.Originally discovered as a result of a post-award audit by the GSA inspector general’s Philadelphia office, the investigation was turned over to GSA’s Washington Field Investigations Office and later to the Justice Department for prosecution.In announcing the settlement, GSA Inspector General Brian Miller said, “Significant audit effort was expended to develop this matter and to bring it to a successful conclusion. This settlement showcases the importance of contract auditing to maintaining the integrity of the GSA MAS program and of government contracts generally.”GSA canceled a contract with the technology reseller in 2003 after a two-year government review of GSA's contract with PC Connection's GovConnection subsidiary looked at systems and procedures that may have resulted in underpayment of fees or sale of unqualified items, the company said. The contract went back to 1997.Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerard Mene of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and that office represented GSA and negotiated the settlement.