Posted on 09/11/2020 3:52:33 PM PDT by ransomnote
The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has agreed to pay the U.S. $10 million to settle claims that it improperly charged NIH-funded research grants for time spent by researchers on non-grant related activities such as developing, preparing, and writing new grant applications, teaching, and engaging in other administrative activities, the Department of Justice announced today.
“The NIH has finite resources to support important research across the nation,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Clark for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “Today’s settlement demonstrates our commitment to protect those resources by ensuring that NIH grants funds are used for the purposes for which they were intended."
“Federal grant recipients must use the grant funds they receive on tasks that specifically relate to the funded project. Those that improperly charge the government for costs unrelated to the project must be held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice have a duty to protect government resources and ensure they are used appropriately.”
“Taxpayers funds for medical research are finite and the need for scientific advances is great; therefore, it’s critical that these resources are used as intended,” said Special Agent in Charge Maureen R. Dixon, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “Working with our law enforcement partners, our investigators will continue to protect these resources so that they are spent appropriately.”
TSRI is a non-profit biomedical research institute with campuses located in Jupiter, Florida and La Jolla, California. TSRI receives millions of dollars in funding from NIH through hundreds of grants each year. The settlement resolves allegations that between 2008 and 2016, TSRI failed to have a system in place for its faculty to properly account for time spent on activities that cannot be charged directly to NIH-funded projects or are unrelated to the research activities of the NIH-funded project. Consequently, the U.S. contended that TSRI improperly charged time spent by faculty on developing, preparing, and writing new grant applications directly to existing NIH-funded projects, rather than allocating such charges as indirect costs. The U.S. also alleged that TSRI improperly charged NIH-funded projects for time spent by its faculty on other activities unrelated to the funded projects, such as teaching, TSRI committee work, and other administrative tasks.
The settlement resolves allegations originally brought in a lawsuit filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act by Thomas Burris, Ph.D, a former TSRI employee. The act permits private parties to sue on behalf of the government for false claims for government funds and to receive a share of any recovery. Dr. Burris will receive $1.75 million.
The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the Civil Division of the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, and the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services.
The case is captioned U.S. ex rel. Burris v. The Scripps Research Institute, Case No. 1:15-CV-01443 (D. Md.). The claims resolved by the settlements are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.
So, where are the prosecutions of the criminals who basically stole millions? Ah, I see. These were govt people stealing $. Makes sense now. Professional courtesy from one bureaucrat to another.
So, where are the prosecutions of the criminals who basically stole millions? Ah, I see. These were govt people stealing $. Makes sense now. Professional courtesy from one bureaucrat to another.
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The DOJ doesn’t have to tell us who it is prosecuting. Such indictments are usually sealed to “protect the good name” of high profile executives, celebrities, officials etc. But, their day in court will come.
If you want to make a ton of money, investigate the thieving democrat suppliers of goods to the federal government. Under the federal false claims act, you can be paid 20% or more of all fraud you uncover.
So if the democrat thieves steal a million dollars, you can collect over one-quarter of a million as a reward. The false claims act can be traced all the way back to the Lincoln presidency.
Well ok. But they sure tell us whenever they arrest or indict a private figure.
Is Scripps the “San Diego” facility that recently said the Sturgis rally accounted for 266,000 cases of Covid? They’re located in La Jolla, a northern suburb of San Diego.
Well ok. But they sure tell us whenever they arrest or indict a private figure.
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Yes. It’s not fair.
For celebrities and high profile officials etc., their attorneys argue that their client will be judged in the court of public opinion by tabloids and “convicted”, permanently damaging their reputation and ability to find work, only to be proven innocent later.
Some people we know quite well have earned (as opposed to honorary) PhD degrees from highly regarded universities. They feel that as “scientists” they are entitled to whatever funding they would want/like from the government agencies. These intellectual types believe that what they do (and by extension, what they think) are the most important things happening/possible.
The stuff that they manage to charge to the grants that they have received would upset a lot of normal people. It is a strange world in which we live.
TSRI is a private organization - I assume it is related to Scripps-Howard News. Now you know why the MSM is liberal.
But maybe your point is that a government employee had to approve the payment at the beginning; only now is the government recovering anything.
This is a shame. Scripps is one of the very best research institutes in the world. They are always cutting edge in the areas they work.
I agree Scripps in one of the best/
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