Schools pay $1.6 million in science fraud case

Abstract

In a landmark settlement, two U.S. universities will pay nearly $1.6 million to close out a five-year-old case involving charges that a researcher used fraudulent data to obtain grants from the National Institutes of Health. The case marks the first time the federal government has used the False Claims Act to pursue scientific research fraud. This act allows private citizens to bring suit on behalf of the government against parties they allege have defrauded the government—and to share in the awards if the suit is successful. Until now, this statute has been used almost exclusively in cases involving the Defense Department and other federal agencies. The affair began in 1983 at the University of Utah, when microbiologist J. Thomas Condie charged that there were data discrepancies in research by immunologist John L. Ninnemann on the causes of immune system suppression after burn injury. Condie, who managed Ninnemann's lab, was asked ...