Moving company agrees to settle allegations of providing payments and gifts to military members to influence surveys and obtain additional business

FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. - A moving company has agreed to pay $325,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by attempting to influence military members' evaluation of its moving services in government surveys.

Interstate Group Holdings, Inc. is a transportation service provider located in Virginia that performed shipments in the Defense Personal Property Program, which is administered by the U.S. Transportation Command at Scott Air Force Base. DP3 provides moving and storage services to Department of War personnel, including coordinating the movement of servicemembers' personal property when they relocate.

During the relevant period, transportation service providers competed for DP3 shipments, and the number of shipments awarded by the government to each company depended in part upon scores in Customer Satisfaction Surveys. The surveys were completed by DoW personnel, or members of their households, after their items were shipped through DP3.

The United States alleged that Interstate violated the False Claims Act by providing improper service recovery payments, inconvenience payments, and modest gifts to servicemembers with some of the payments and gifts made for the purpose of influencing CSS scores. This conduct occurred between August 2017 and February 2023.

"Companies with federal contracts are expected to act with honesty and integrity, and we will use all our criminal and civil tools to protect taxpayer dollars from waste, fraud, and abuse," said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft.

The investigation was conducted by the DoW Office of Inspector General, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Army Criminal Investigation Division, and Defense Contract Audit Agency. The Government was represented in this matter by Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Barke.

To report fraud, waste, and abuse within the DoW, visit www.dodig.mil/hotlineLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. or call 1-800-424-9098.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.