Washington River Protection Solutions, LLC (WRPS) has agreed to pay $6.5 million to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to settle allegations of overcharging the Department of Energy, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Washington.
The allegations against WRPS included claims that the company knowingly submitted false claims for labor hours by failing to assign sufficient work to its employees, who then recorded full shifts despite not working the entire time, the release said.
WRPS has worked as a federal contractor operating the “Tank Farms” in Hanford, WA, which houses 176 underground storage tanks containing mixed hazardous and radioactive waste, according to the Department of Energy.
According to the DOJ, WRPS admitted to seeking reimbursement for time employees did not work between October 2017 and December 2024.
“This is unfortunately not the first time that WRPS has settled allegations of committing fraud on the Tank Farms Contract,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard R. Barker.
In December 2022, a WRPS employee came forward as a whistleblower, filing a complaint under the False Claims Act, according to prosecutors.
The DOJ says that the whistleblower will receive $1.4 million from the settlement.
“This individual came forward with serious and credible allegations of fraud that were then investigated for years,” Barker said.
“We are able to uncover fraud and hold fraudsters accountable only when good people come forward and report it to law enforcement,” he continued.
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