20-05-2025
Berlin company, owner reach $300K civil agreement with U.S.
CONNECTICUT (WTNH) — A Berlin-based company and its owner have entered into a $300,000 civil settlement agreement with the United States to resolve allegations that they failed to comply with the requirements of the Buy American Act (BAA) and the Trade Agreements Act (TAA) by selling foreign end products to several government procuring agencies, including by shipping products directly from China to a procuring agency, in violation of the False Claims Act.
In 2013, LED Lighting Solutions, LLC and its owner, Thomas DeSantos entered into a Multiple Award Schedule contract (MAS) with the General Services Administration (GSA) to supply LED lights and lighting products, which required compliance with the TAA.
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The TAA generally bars government procurements of end products from foreign countries that have not entered into trade agreements with the U.S. The BAA creates a preference for the government to acquire domestic end products.
Before entering into the GSA MAS contract, LED Lighting Solutions provided GSA with a 'letter of supply' attesting to its supplier's compliance with the TAA. LED Lighting Solutions certified compliance with the TAA and failed to identify any foreign end products on its product list each year.
The Air Force, Coast Guard, GSA, Department of State, and USDA each ordered products off of LED Lighting Solutions' GSA MAS contract.
The government contends that LED Lighting Solutions and DeSantos falsely certified that they were providing these agencies with TAA-compliant end products under seven contracts/delivery orders when, in fact, some of the end products were manufactured in China, which has not entered into a trade agreement with the U.S.
This included at least one contract for which LED Lighting Solutions and DeSantos arranged to have products shipped directly from China to the procuring agency.
LED Lighting Solutions also entered into eight contracts/delivery orders with the Air Force, Army, and FEMA, which required compliance with the BAA. The government contends that LED Lighting Solutions and DeSantos falsely certified that they were providing these procuring agencies with domestic end products when, in fact, some of the products were foreign end products.
In addition to making payment under the civil settlement agreement, LED Lighting also agreed to withdraw, with prejudice, two appeals pending before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) for termination of an Army contract for which LED Lighting Solutions supplied foreign end products in violation of the BAA and the False Claims Act.
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