On February 16, 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas announced that the University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC) had agreed to pay $13,073,000 to the United States to settle claims that UNTHSC inaccurately measured, tracked, and paid researchers for the effort spent on certain National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored research grants.

The settlement comes as a result of UNTHSC’s self-disclosure to the United States that from January 2011 through February 2016, UNTHSC failed to ensure that its reports of the time and effort related to certain federally-funded grants were accurately and timely certified. As a recipient of NIH grant funds, UNTHSC is responsible for accurately reporting and certifying time and efforts spent on NIH grants. UNTHSC was required to demonstrate accuracy through records that accurately reflect the work performed and an appropriate system of internal controls.

In its February 16, 2018, press release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas stated that UNTHSC failed to meet these requirements, and as a result, received payments for inaccurately and untimely time and effort certifications. The UNTHSC also received salary payments when the correlating payments did not match the time and effort reports submitted by UNTHSC. The United States contended that this conduct resulted in false claims being submitted to the government. The press release notes that UNTHSC “fully cooperated in the investigative and settlement process.”

The investigation was conducted by HHS’s Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas. A copy of the press release is available here.