United Airlines recently agreed to pay over $49 million to resolve charges of fraud. According to public records, United entered into International Commercial Air (“ICAIR”) contracts with the United States Postal Service (“USPS”) to transport U.S. mail internationally on behalf of USPS. Pursuant to these contracts, United was required to provide bar code scans of mail to USPS upon possession and delivery of the mail. United was entitled to full payment under its contracts with USPS if it provided accurate mail scans to USPS and timely delivered the mail in its possession.
Between 2012 and 2015, United submitted false delivery scan data to USPS to make it appear that United and its partner airlines were complying with their contracts, when in fact they weren’t. Instead of providing USPS with accurate delivery scans as required by its ICAIR contracts, United submitted automated delivery scans based on projected delivery times. These automated scans failed to correspond to the actual movement of the mail as was mandated by the ICAIR contracts. Since this scan data was not tied to the actual delivery of mail to the recipients, payment to United was inappropriate under the terms of the ICAIR contracts. Through its data automation scheme, United obtained millions of dollars in payments from USPS to which it was not entitled under the ICAIR contacts.
In addition, United admitted that it hid issues related to scanning and mail movements that, if known, would have subjected the organization to financial penalties. Certain United employees purposely concealed United’s fraudulent automation efforts from USPS. These persons also knew that the transmission of false data violated the terms of United’s ICAIR contracts. Efforts taken by these employees to hide United’s automation practices included revising false delivery times to make the automated scans appear less suspicious to USPS.
As a result of its fraudulent actions, United has entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the United States Department of Justice. As part of this agreement, United has agreed to pay $17,271,415 in criminal penalties and disgorgement. Separately, United has entered into a False Claims Act settlement with the United States Department of Justice’s Civil Division for related conduct, under which it must pay $32,186,687.
Contact Our Hackensack Consumer Fraud Attorney
As you can see, fraud is prevalent in the United States, and even major corporations aren’t immune to it. Therefore, if you are the victim of consumer fraud, you need an experienced Hackensack consumer fraud attorney on your side. At Rosenblatt Law PC, we are dedicated to combating consumer fraud. When you choose us to handle your consumer fraud case, we’ll do everything in our power to ensure that you are compensated for your losses. If you’re ready to seek financial compensation via a consumer fraud case, contact us today to schedule a free initial consultation with one of our talented attorneys.
