Jacintoport, Seaboard settle false claims lawsuit

The U.S. Justice Department said Jacintoport International and Seaboard Marine Ltd. have agreed to pay $1.075 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that the companies violated the False Claims Act.    The U.S. Justice Department on Monday said Jacintoport International and Seaboard Marine Ltd. have agreed to pay $1.075 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that the companies violated the False Claims Act in connection to a warehousing and logistics contract for the storage and re-delivery of humanitarian food aid.
   In its lawsuit, the United States alleged that Houston-based stevedore Jacintoport in 2007 oversaw a warehousing and logistics contract with the U.S. Agency for International Development for the storage and re-delivery of emergency humanitarian food aid. This contract contained “explicit caps” on the stevedoring rates Jacintoport could charge ocean carriers to load humanitarian food aid onto ships.
   The U.S. government’s complaint alleges that starting in January 2008 and continuing through October 2009, Jacintoport, under the supervision and control of its affiliate Seaboard, charged ocean carriers more for stevedoring than permitted to load over 50,000 tons of humanitarian food aid.
   “These inflated stevedoring charges were subsequently lumped into other costs for delivering humanitarian food aid and passed on to the United States,” the Justice Department said.
   The alleged False Claims Act violations were initially brought forward by whistleblower John Raggio, a shipping contractor who allegedly received an invoice from Jacintoport that contained the “excessive” stevedoring charge.
   The Justice Department explained that under the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions, a private citizen, known as a “relator,” can sue on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery. Raggio will receive $215,000 from the settlement. On Monday, the government requested that the case be dismissed.