The United States has filed a scathing complaint against Jacintoport International LLC, alleging the Houston-based cargo handling and stevedoring firm ripped off taxpayers by inflating stevedoring charges for humanitarian food aid.
According to the complaint, Jacintoport entered into a warehousing and logistics contract with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2007 to store and redeliver emergency humanitarian food aid. However, instead of playing by the rules, Jacintoport allegedly exceeded the caps on stevedoring charges, raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars in unnecessary fees.
The lawsuit claims that between January 2008 and October 2009, Jacintoport regularly charged the U.S. government inflated rates for stevedoring services, resulting in over $500,000 in improper payments for the delivery of more than 50,000 tons of humanitarian food aid.
“USAID’s humanitarian food aid program provides critical assistance to starving people all over the world,” said Stuart F. Delery, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. “The Justice Department will take action against those whom we believe improperly charged the taxpayers in providing vital humanitarian aid.”
“This action is part of our commitment to protecting the taxpayers’ money and ensuring the integrity of foreign assistance programs,” said U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. “When contractors do not meet their obligations, they will be held accountable.”
The United States’ complaint was filed in a lawsuit initiated under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by John Raggio, who allegedly received an invoice from Jacintoport that contained the excessive stevedoring charge. The act imposes treble damages and penalties for the submission of false claims for government money and/or property.
The Justice Department’s Civil Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, with assistance from the USAID Office of the Inspector General, handled the investigation of this matter. The claims alleged in the United States’ complaint are only allegations and do not constitute a determination of liability.
The case is United States ex. rel. Raggio v. Jacintoport International LLC Case No. 1:10-cv-01908 (D.D.C.).
The U.S. government is seeking treble damages and penalties for the alleged false claims submitted by Jacintoport International LLC. If convicted, the company could face significant fines and reputational damage.
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