Oracle has paid a staggering $8 million to silence a whistleblower who claimed that the company fraudulently billed federal agencies for training from 1997 through 2003. The employee, Robert Makheja, sparked off all sorts of nasty trouble when he claimed he was fired by Boston-based supervisor Ken Hamel after he challenged the company's billing practices.
Federal prosecutors investigated and filed their own claims against Oracle. They were particularly miffed at one alleged abuse involved billing and collecting from the government before training was provided.
There were some irregularities in the way Oracle billed the government for travel and other expenses. Under the settlement Oracle is allowed to deny all the allegations, and say that its conduct was permitted under contract terms and under the law.
As a result of the settlement, Makheja will get $1.58 million.