Cisco, Westcon pay 48 million dollars in overcharging case

Cisco Systems and Westcon Group North America have agreed to pay 48 million dollars to settle an overcharging case, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

"Contractors that do business with the United States must deal fairly with federal agencies," assistant attorney general Tony West said in a statement.

"When contractors provide incomplete and untruthful information to the government, we will take action to restore the integrity of the procurement process and protect taxpayer dollars," West said.

Cisco and Westcon, formerly known as Comstor, were accused of providing incomplete information to the General Services Administration (GSA), the US government's main procurement agency, during contract negotiations.

Westcon's contract with the GSA "resulted in defective pricing of Cisco products and submission of false claims to the United States," the Justice Department said.

Hewlett-Packard last week agreed to pay 55 million dollars to settle claims the US computer giant defrauded the US government.

(c) 2010 AFP