Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Cisco Systems and Westcon Group North America Pay $48 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations

WASHINGTON -- Cisco Systems and Westcon Group North America (formerly d.b.a. Comstor) have agreed to pay the United States $48 million to settle claims that they made misrepresentations to the General Services Administration (GSA) and other federal agencies in violation of the False Claims Act, the Justice Department announced today.

Today’s civil settlement resolves the United States’ assertions that Cisco and Westcon knowingly provided incomplete information to GSA contracting officers during negotiations in regard to Westcon’s contract with the GSA, which resulted in defective pricing of Cisco products and submission of false claims to the United States.

“Contractors that do business with the United States must deal fairly with federal agencies,â€