Dover Contractor and Owners Pay $295,204 to Settle Postal Service Overbilling Claims

WILMINGTON, Del. - Garrett Mechanical Inc., a Dover repair and maintenance contractor; Hey Brother, LLC, a Florida limited liability company; Joseph Bruni; and Daniel Tulchin have agreed to pay $295,204 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by overbilling the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) for work performed at Postal facilities.

Garrett Mechanical Inc., owned and operated by Bruni, began providing repair and maintenance services at USPS facilities in February 2021. In May 2022, Hey Brother, owned by Tulchin, purchased substantially all of Garrett Mechanical Inc.'s assets. Following the sale, Bruni continued to work for Hey Brother, which did business as Garrett Mechanical, and reported to Tulchin. The companies performed work for USPS until September 2023 and billed USPS approximately $263,576 between 2021 and 2023.

As part of the settlement, the defendants admitted that from February 2021 through September 2023, the companies submitted claims to USPS that included inflated labor hours, inflated material costs, false completion certificates, and forged signatures of USPS employees. As a result, USPS paid the companies more than it owed under the service agreement.

"Companies doing business with the United States must turn square corners," said United States Attorney Benjamin L. Wallace. "This Office will fight fraud wherever it finds it, especially fraud on government agencies, and this settlement serves as a reminder that the penalties for inflating costs, falsifying completion, and forging signatures are severe."

"The USPS OIG will continue to aggressively investigate companies that engage in activities designed to defraud the Postal Service's contracting process," said Executive Special Agent in Charge Kevin Cloninger of the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General (OIG). "This settlement demonstrates that our special agents, along with the United States Attorney's Office, will pursue contractors that overcharge the government and enrich themselves at the expense of USPS customers."

The defendants are jointly and severally liable for the settlement amount, of which $147,602 is restitution.

USPS OIG handled the investigation. U.S. Attorney Benjamin L. Wallace announced the settlement. Assistant United States Attorney Claudia Pare handled the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Delaware. The settlement agreement is attached to this press release.

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