Last week the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against one of the nation’s largest trucking companies for allegedly duping the Department of Defense out of millions of dollars for years.
On Friday, December 14, the U.S. government filed suit in the U.S. District Court in Buffalo, New York, against YRC Freight Inc., Roadway Express Inc., and Yellow Transportation Inc., all owned by YRC Worldwide, after officials say that they were “systematically overcharged.”
The lawsuit alleges that YRC knowingly charged the U.S. government for transporting heavier weights than the loads that they were actually hauling.
From a press release from the Department of Justice:
“The United States alleges that, for more than seven years, the defendants defrauded the Department of Defense by millions of dollars for shipments that were actually lighter, and thus cheaper, than the weights for which the defendants charged the government. The United States further alleges that the defendants knowingly made or used false statements concealing their overcharging practices to the Department of Defense.”
The government accuses YRC of reweighing thousands of shipments for the Department of Defense and then suppressing the results when the load weighed less than the estimate. The lawsuit also accuses YRC of lying to the government about being overcharged by failing to correct false invoices and failing to return overpayments.
U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy Jr. calls YRC’s actions “fraudulent and illegal” and says that this lawsuit should serve as a warning to any other company that would try to rip off the U.S. government.
YRC denies all of the claims made in the lawsuit. “These claims are totally without merit,” said Jim Fry, YRCW General Counsel. “We have made every effort over nearly a decade to address the government’s questions. We are confident that the evidence will demonstrate YRC Freight acted consistently with our contract and all applicable guidelines. We look forward to continuing to provide essential and valuable logistics services to the U.S. government and all our customers.”
YRC also says that “business with the U.S. Department of Defense currently represents less than one percent of YRC Freight’s annual revenue.”