A Raleigh professor has agreed to pay $152,500 to resolve allegedly false national science grant claims.
According to the Department of Justice of ENC, Dr. Michael Harrington and his company, Genoverde Bioscience, have agreed to pay $152,500 to the United States to resolve claims of allegedly false payments. According to the DOJ, the false payments were made under National Science Foundation grants and Payment Protection Program loans.
U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle released a statement on the allegedly false payments saying
“This civil fraud settlement demonstrates our commitment to protect taxpayer money and guard the integrity of our grant programs.”
Boyle also emphasized the severity of the case by highlighting that damages and civil penalties will be pursued whether the amounts taken were large or small.
According to the DOJ, this settlement arose from the allegation against Dr. Harrington’s company, Genoverde. The grants issued to Genoverde included expenses for research that detailed harvesting hemp and trees. Genoverde was believed to have made expense claims allegedly under government grants, along with seeking PPP loan forgiveness.
Acting Inspector General Megan Wallace also weighed in on the investigation, saying
“The NSF Office of Inspector General is committed to ensuring the integrity of NSF’s SBIR grant program by holding accountable those who choose to engage in false claims and misrepresentation schemes.”
Wallace also described that the DOJ will pursue the matter and conduct oversight of taxpayer funds devoted to scientific research.
Under the False Claims Act, the government is to recover three times the amount of money falsely obtained and substantial penalties for each false claim submitted. The civil claims here were resolved by settlement and are allegations only.
As of now, no further details have been released.