Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Qui Tam Blogs -> False Claims Act - Qui Tam

Qui Tam

: False Claims Act - Qui Tam

Mining company will pay Calif. $42.2 million in stolen sand case

By Qui Tam

Hansen Building Materials has agreed to pay the state of California $42.2 million to settle allegations that the company stole 2 million cubic feet of sand. It was then sold to construction companies to make concrete and cement.

The whistleblower who originated the suit will receive $10 million for his efforts, according to a December 12, 2007 report in the San Francisco Chronicle.

This is the second-largest recovery in a suit brought under the state's False Claims Act.

Hansen had taken over sand-dredging leases from other companies. The leases required the companies to pay royalties based on the sale price. The whistleblower, a tug boat captain who pulled sand-filled barges for Hansen, alleged that the company took sand from areas where it did not hold leases and under-reported its sales to the state.

Full post as published by False Claims Act - Qui Tam on December 17, 2007 (boomark / email).