Roofer Awarded $400,000 in Whistleblower Case

4514 Cole Ave, #600 | Dallas, Texas 75205

Call Kardell Law Group 214-306-8045

A roofer from Madison, Maine was awarded more than $400,000 for being the key whistleblower in a recently settled lawsuit over allegations a company regularly cut corners when working on federal building projects in the state.

The whistleblower helped expose allegations of fraud after being hired as a subcontractor by Belcon Enterprises, which was previously known as Roof Systems of Maine. He worked on a variety of projects for the company from 2010 to 2014. The 52-year-old man also owns his own company, Maine Roof Solutions, and said he decided to file a lawsuit under the False Claims Act after he raised concerns about alarming problems with these projects — and that he had those concerns both ignored and dismissed by government officials and the main contractor.

Fraud commonly exposed by whistleblowers

The False Claims Act is in place primarily to prevent fraud by businesses doing work for the federal government. It is whistleblowers who most commonly expose these instances of fraud.

Under the settlement, Roof Systems agreed to pay a $439,500 penalty to resolve the allegations that it committed FCA violations. According to the lawsuit, the company regularly worked as cheaply as possible to improve margins and line its own pockets at the expense of taxpayers across the nation. The company started using weaker and cheaper steel screws instead of strong brass bolts, which resulted in weaker steel beams that were more prone to corrosion at high levels. The whistleblower’s assistance in this case was essential to reaching this settlement.

It’s important for businesses and organizations to have sound processes in place for investigating the claims of whistleblowers. To learn more, consult an experienced Dallas attorney at Whistleblower Law for Managers right away.

By Steve Kardell | Published May 26, 2016 | Posted in Whistleblower Litigation | Tagged allegations of fraud, roofer

Awards & Honors

Our Office

Dallas Office
4514 Cole Ave
#600
Dallas, Texas 75205
Phone: 214-306-8045
Fax: 469-729-9926

Testimonials

"Steve Kardell was terrific in representing me in some very adversarial discussions with Citigroup and also later represented me in my testimony before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission." -Richard Bowen, Citigroup Whistleblower
"Incredible knowledge of employee related concerns and equally brilliant knowledge of health care regulations, standards of practice. I would recommend this firm to anyone." -V.B.
"Reaching out to Steve Kardell was the best decision I made. His ability to provide immediate insight and direction was very powerful, and a huge relief during a very stressful time period. For anyone struggling with a whistleblower situation, I would highly recommend at least speaking with Steve. After a 10 minute call with him, I had a better understanding of what I was dealing with. Even better, he gave me some immediate hope. In the end Steve did a better job than I thought was possible. Steve was able to get in contact with people in my organization, that I didn’t have access to. Because of his years of experience, he already has contacts in many organizations in Dallas. The entire situation was handled peacefully. I was impressed by his ability to “keep the peace”–rather than creating a battle with the organization. The reason I didn’t reach out to a lawyer initially, was because I thought it would mean an immediate end to any hope of a positive relationship with the company. Steve was able to address my concerns, and in the end I was able to continue to work for them." -KS
"Never thought my career would end like it did after 30 years of service. I was part of the first round of the so called reduction of force. I asked myself how can I be part of this with 30 years of seniority. How did they pick these 90 plus employees? Now, the culture of this organization made you question every decision they made. It wasn’t what you knew it’s was a culture of who you know. Nonetheless, I did not accept their severance package. I immediately starting looking for an attorney who would take on my case. After the initial call to Steve I had hope again. He was open and honest about everything and reassured me he would do his best for me, and he did. I had an awesome outcome. Thanks Steve you’re the best." -S.S.