Maximus, Inc., a company based in Virginia that worked as a government contractor, has agreed to pay $8 million to the United States. This payment is to resolve serious allegations that it misled the United States Census Bureau about the quality of the work done during the 2020 Census. The settlement comes after an investigation into Maximus’s actions, which were brought to light by whistleblowers under the False Claims Act.
Maximus was responsible for running call centers during the 2020 Census. These call centers received calls from people with questions about the Census and also made outgoing calls to help others complete their Census forms. The company was required to evaluate the quality of its services and report this information to the Census Bureau.
The Alleged Fraudulent Actions
Maximus’s contract with the Census Bureau required the company to assess the quality of its call center operations. The company employed quality monitors who scored the calls based on how well the call-takers followed the rules. These rules were set up to measure how accurate the data input was and how professional and polite the call-takers were.
The government claims that Maximus provided false information about its performance. Instead of scoring calls randomly, which the contract required, Maximus allegedly encouraged its quality monitors to select specific calls that would show better results. By choosing calls that were easier to rate highly, the company was able to report artificially high quality scores. These inflated scores made it seem like Maximus was doing a better job than it really was.
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The problem with this, according to the U.S. government, is that the Census Bureau used these scores to determine how much money Maximus should receive. Since the scores were misleading, Maximus ended up receiving higher payments, known as “award fees,” than it should have. These payments were meant to reward Maximus for performing well on the contract, but the company’s dishonest reporting led to it being paid more than it deserved.
The government said that Maximus didn’t tell the Census Bureau about the practice of selecting specific calls to score. This is a key part of the fraud allegation, as it created a false impression of the company’s performance and led to unfair payments.
Whistleblowers Bring the Allegations to Light
The allegations against Maximus were first uncovered by whistleblowers—employees who noticed the fraudulent practices and decided to speak up. These whistleblowers filed a lawsuit under the False Claims Act, which allows private citizens to report fraud against the government and share in the recovery of money.
Thanks to their efforts, Maximus has agreed to settle and pay the U.S. government $8 million. As part of this settlement, the whistleblowers will receive $1.2 million. Their courage in exposing the truth helped bring attention to the problem and ensure that the U.S. government was paid back for the money it lost due to the fraudulent actions.
It is important to note that Maximus has not admitted to any wrongdoing. The company cooperated with the investigation, and the case was resolved through this settlement, without any formal finding of guilt. Additionally, the lawsuit did not claim that Maximus manipulated the actual Census data that was collected. The focus was purely on the call center operations and the inflated quality scores.
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Government Officials React to the Settlement
The U.S. government has made it clear that contractors who work with the government must be honest in their reporting. Timothy T. Duax, the United States Attorney handling the case, said that companies cannot mislead the government, especially when it affects the amount of taxpayer money they receive. The government is determined to hold companies accountable if they try to cheat taxpayers for their own gain.
Eric Arcand, the Special Agent-in-Charge with the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General (Commerce-OIG), also spoke about the case. He explained that the Census Bureau’s work is crucial to helping the government make decisions that affect everyone. Any attempt to cheat the system or defraud the Census Bureau is something that cannot be allowed to happen.
Maximus’s actions in this case were seen as an attempt to manipulate the quality of its work in order to receive more money from the U.S. government. The settlement and the whistleblowers’ actions are a reminder that the government takes fraud very seriously and is committed to investigating any wrongdoing in its contracts.
