Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Attorney General’s Office has concluded its investigation into the invoices and billing practices of Dr Jonathan Gruber, an economic consultant, who contracted with the State of Vermont in July 2014 to provide policy expertise, research and economic modeling relating to the implementation of Vermont’s single-payer healthcare system, Green Mountain Care. The Office’s investigation was opened following a referral by State Auditor Doug Hoffer.
The Attorney General’s Office and Gruber have reached an agreement to settle the State’s potential legal claim that Gruber submitted false claims to the State under Vermont’s Civil False Claims Act.
According to theSettlement Agreement, Gruber’s personal services contract with the State was a standard “time and materials” contract which specified that Gruber would be paid only for services actually performed and required Gruber to submit monthly invoices describing the work performed and the amounts billed for such work.
The maximum to be paid would be $450,000, but was not intended to be a guaranteed amount. The contract was subsequently reduced to $280,000 maximum on November 19, 2014.
The AG’s investigation revealed that Gruber submitted at least two invoices that were false with respect to the amount of work performed by Gruber’s research assistant. Further, the supporting documentation provided by Gruber did not reflect the actual hours worked by the research assistant, nor did the assistant keep records accurately reflecting the hours he devoted to the state project.
The Attorney General’s Office concluded that Gruber’s conduct violated the Vermont Civil False Claims Act.
Gruber claimed that the invoices in question involved work undertaken before the contract was reduced.
While Gruber denied that there was a violation, in order to resolve the matter, he agreed to forgo any further payment that might be due from the State under the contract, including $90,000 outstanding for retainage amounts and unpaid research assistant time.
Therefore, Gruber will not get any more money and the state will not take any further legal action against Gruber.
Gruber got in hot water in 2014 and 2015 over both the state contract and for work he did on the Affordable Care Act.
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