Bid rigging cost Dell and Iron Bow $4.3M in Justice settlement
Dell Technologies and Iron Bow Technologies will pay a combined $4.3 million to resolve allegations they manipulated Army contract bids through a deceptive pricing scheme that created a false appearance of competition while overcharging for computer hardware from 2020 to 2024:
- Initial Setup (May 2020): Dell established a deal registration program that provided Iron Bow Technologies with preferential pricing for Dell computer hardware products under the Army Desktop and Mobile Computing 3 (ADMC-3) contract.
- Ongoing Deception (2020-2024): While giving Iron Bow advantageous prices, Dell simultaneously submitted its own higher-priced direct bids to the Army for the same solicitations. This created an illusion of competition while actually manipulating the Army's source selection process.
- Discovery: Brent Lillard, an executive at a competing IT reseller, noticed the suspicious bidding pattern and filed a whistleblower lawsuit under the False Claims Act's qui tam provisions.
- Resolution (current): The case concluded with Dell agreeing to pay $2.3 million and Iron Bow agreeing to pay $2.051 million in settlements. Lillard received $345,000 as his share of the recovery for exposing the scheme. While the companies settled, they did not admit liability.
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