The landlord contractor for the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., has agreed to pay roughly $5 million to settle Justice Department litigation alleging the company “fraudulently overcharged” the Department of Energy for hours not actually worked over many years.
Leidos-led Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS) must pay the feds roughly $3.45 million — including $1.73 million in restitution to DOE — while paying another almost $1.5 million to whistleblower Bradley Keever and his attorneys, prosecutors said this week.
The HMIS settlement resolves False Claims Act allegations that the contractor “was aware of and failed to prevent inflated labor hours being charged to DOE,” since 2020, according to a Monday press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Washington.
The whistleblower Keever worked in the fire system maintenance group at Hanford, according to the 12-page settlement document. A Hanford employee specializing in fire sprinkler systems since 2009, Keever noticed years ago that many sprinkler systems were showing signs of not being properly maintained.
In court documents Justice accused HMIS of billing for hours connected with fire suppression system maintenance and inspection work while crews were on extended breaks or watching movies on video.
HMIS, which consists of Leidos, Centerra and Parsons, holds a site services contract putting it in charge of daily work affecting roads, grounds, utilities, fire safety and other essential chores. The current business is valued at $5.3 billion. It started in August 2020 and is scheduled to run through September 2028, according to a major contracts summary by DOE’s Office of Environmental Management.
The absence of work and false labor costs began in 2016 under a prior Leidos-led contractor, Mission Support Alliance, according to court documents. These practices continued when HMIS took over.
An August 2024 report by DOE found that significant problems remained with Hanford fire suppression systems.
“Since 2016, Mr. Keever and the teams he has worked on were frequently idle; often working less than three to four hours per day. Yet, they were instructed to bill all ten hours and sometimes overtime to charge codes associated with the maintenance of the fire suppression systems.,” the Justice Department had said in a 2021 filing.
“We must recognize the courage of individuals like Mr. Keever and other Hanford workers who came forward to report misconduct,” said Richard Condit, a partner at Mehri & Skalet and co-chair of the firm’s Whistleblower Rights Practice Group said in a press release from the Hanford Challenge advocacy group.
“Whistleblowers play a critical role in protecting taxpayer funds and ensuring that contractors are held accountable when they put profits over safety,” Condit said.
“Corporate fraud perpetrated upon the taxpayer at Hanford distracts from DOE’s vital clean up mission,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney for Eastern Washington Pete Serrano. “I hope every individual and business that contracts with the federal government sees this settlement and knows there’s a real risk of prosecution when the United States is defrauded.”
“Workers at the Hanford site were highly trained, specialized, and willing to provide a public service to keep our community safe. Management at the nuclear site derailed their ability, and it cost the taxpayer millions.” said Nikolas Peterson, executive director of Hanford Challenge, the Seattle-based watchdog group. “Although the fraud aspect of this case is now final, the underlying safety concerns remain unresolved. We remain concerned about the quality and consistency of fire suppression system maintenance. If fire suppression systems at Hanford are unreliable, it’s not just a technical failure, it’s a systemic one.”