A Raleigh professor and his company agreed to pay $152,500
to the United States to resolve claims of allegedly false payments under
National Science Foundation grants and Payment Protection Program (PPP) loans.
Dr. Michael Harrington and his company Genoverde Bioscience,
Inc. agreed to the payment on Monday, according
to the U.S. Department of Justice.
“This civil fraud settlement demonstrates our commitment to
protect taxpayer money and guard the integrity of our grant programs,” U.S.
Attorney Ellis Boyle said in a news release.
“Our office will zealously pursue damages and civil penalties against
grant recipients whether the amounts taken are large or small.”
The settlement arose from allegations that Harrington’s
company, Genoverde, made false and duplicative expense claims under government
grants, and also improperly sought PPP loans and PPP loan forgiveness. The
Genoverde grants included expenses for research on harvesting industrial hemp
and trees, according to the Justice Department.
Shaw University’s website lists Harrington as a professor. Harrington’s
LinkedIn states he started teaching in 2023 at Shaw.
WRAL News has reached out to Shaw and Genoverde with a request about the settlement, which was not immediately returned.
“Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards are highly
competitive grants intended to fund American-owned small businesses to conduct
research that will lead to the commercialization of innovative new products and
services,” said Megan E. Wallace, NSF’s Acting Inspector General. “The NSF
Office of Inspector General is committed to ensuring the integrity of NSF’s
SBIR grant program by holding accountable those who choose to engage in false
claims and misrepresentation schemes.
“We appreciate the efforts of the Department of Justice in
pursuing this matter and will continue to vigorously pursue oversight of
taxpayer funds devoted to scientific research.”
The False Claims Act mandates that the government recover
three times the amount of money falsely obtained, plus substantial penalties
for each false claim submitted, according to the Justice Department.
The Justice Department said the settlement resolved the
civil claims and are allegations only. No judicial determination or admission
of liability occurred, according to the Justice Department.