Software company Oracle Corp. is relying on Arnold & Porter in a False Claims Act case that the U.S. Department of Justice has decided to join.
The Arnold & Porter team includes partner John Nassikas III, according to filings in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He is a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District and now specializes in white-collar defense and corporate investigations.
Nassikas represented the NBA’s Washington Wizards after star player Gilbert Arenas was charged with felony gun possession for bringing a gun to practice. He also represented former congressional staffer William Heaton, who was sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to conspiracy in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.
Drew Harker, a partner who works in Arnold & Porter’s government contracts group, is also working on the matter, as are associates Cameron Fogle and Andrew Price Jr.
The False Claims Act complaint against Oracle alleges that the company overcharged the U.S. General Services Administration for software products by tens of millions of dollars and failed to disclose to the government that it was charging private-sector customers less. It was filed by Paul Frascella, who joined Oracle in 1997 as a contract specialist.
The complaint (PDF) was unsealed in April, when the Justice Department filed notice that it was intervening in the case. Christopher Mead, a name partner in Washington’s London & Mead, is representing Frascella.
Justice Department lawyers are expected to file an amended complaint this summer. Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Sponseller and Civil Division attorneys Joyce Branda, Pat Davis, and Sara McLean are working on the case.
News of the original complaint was reported over the past day by several news organizations, including IDG News Service and Washington Technology.
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