A Washington-based defense contractor has agreed to pay $3.3 million to settle allegations it rigged bids and inflated prices on contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), federal prosecutors revealed Monday.
Berg Companies Inc., which manufactures rigid wall shelters, admitted it conspired with Boston-based prime contractor Noble Sales Co. and two other vendors in New Mexico and Florida to manipulate quotes for DoD purchases between 2019 and 2021. The scheme allegedly forced the military to pay excessive prices for shelters, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
“Bid rigging of this type inhibits competition… creating the risk that the government is purchasing inferior products at exorbitant prices,” said Brett Shumate, assistant attorney general in the DOJ’s Civil Division.
The case, prosecuted under the False Claims Act, reveals a web of coordinated fraud in which Berg intentionally submitted inflated quotes, allowing its co-conspirators to win contracts at unjustifiably high prices—undermining competitive bidding requirements intended to protect taxpayer dollars.
