New York City settles U.S. claims over Superstorm Sandy
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City has reached a $5.3 million settlement of claims that it improperly billed the U.S. government for vehicles it falsely claimed had been damaged beyond repair during Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
The settlement made public on Wednesday resolves claims that the city violated the federal False Claims Act by certifying to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that the storm caused the damage to Department of Transportation vehicles.
According to the federal government, many of the vehicles had been damaged or left inoperable long before Sandy and were therefore ineligible for indemnification. The government said this made the city’s May 2014 certifications to FEMA false.
The settlement calls for New York City to pay the government $4.13 million, and give up a claim to another $1.18 million. Settlement papers were filed in Manhattan federal court.
A spokesman for the city’s law department had no immediate comment. The office of U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman in Manhattan had no immediate additional comment.
Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting by Brendan Pierson; Editing by Tom Brown and Sonya Hepinstall
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