US Dept of Justice to Sue Oracle for Overcharging Claims

The US Justice dept is due to file a lawsuit that claims Oracle overcharged the federal government millions of dollars because the company failed to offer the Fed Govt the same heavy discounts that it offers commercial customers. As per its government contract, which ran from 1998 to 2006, Oracle was bound  to do that under the terms of the General Services Administration contract. Oracle whistleblower Paul Frascella originally filed the lawsuit in 2007 under the False Claims Act. Oracle shares dropped 13 cents, or -0.6%, in premarket trading Friday.

“The whole idea of GSA schedule discounts is that the government, in the aggregate, is likely to be one of the largest purchasers of a company’s products, and is entitled to take advantage of the discounts that its large buying power should command,” the complaint claims.