Consultant overbilling: Committee of the Whole—May 19, 2022
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Overbilling
Key messages
- The government is committed to its obligations to the Canadian tax payer. It takes matters of fraud seriously and has a framework of laws, regulations and policies in place to protect the integrity of the federal procurement system
- When Public Services and Procurement Canada becomes aware of an allegation of fraud, it immediately launches an investigation and takes the necessary action to mitigate risks associated with those responsible
- Cases of this nature are also referred to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), or the law enforcement agency of jurisdiction, for their consideration in launching a criminal investigation
- If a criminal investigation is launched, Public Services and Procurement Canada cooperates with authorities and provides all necessary assistance
- Public Services and Procurement Canada recently conducted an investigation related to allegations of overpayment by an individual who undertook contract work with multiple Government of Canada departments and agencies, through several contracted companies
- The security status and clearance of the individual remains suspended pending the completion of the review for cause process, which will determine if revocation of the security status and clearance is warranted
- Should the allegations be founded, the Government of Canada has the authority to recover the funds in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contracts
Current situation
- In a recent case, Public Services and Procurement Canada conducted an investigation and found that, from January 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, an individual undertook contract work with 8 Government of Canada departments and agencies, through 8 different contracted companies
- The individual overbilled the Government of Canada by submitting timesheets showing double, triple, quadruple and even quintuple billing on certain days under these separate contracts. The investigation revealed that this individual overbilled an estimated [Redacted] to the Government of Canada
- The security status and clearance of the individual remains suspended pending the completion of the review for cause process, which will determine if revocation of the security status and clearance is warranted. This process is in progress as part of the Contract Security Program at Public Services and Procurement Canada
- Additionally, in the course of the investigation, a possible second case of overbilling by an information technology consultant under contract to Shared Services Canada in the amount of [Redacted] was identified
- The Government of Canada has the authority to recover the funds in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contracts
- Restitution is being sought by impacted government department and agencies and the matter of fraud has been referred to the RCMP, [Redacted]
- We continually strive to improve our procurement management system to better detect potentially fraudulent billing
Shared Services Canada safeguards
- Work performed through professional services contracts are defined in a statement of work, with clear deliverables
- Delegated managers are responsible to certify that work has been performed, and the services rendered before payment against a contract can be made
- Managers can leverage the section 34 Financial Administration Act account verification checklist. In the case of professional services incurred, the checklist reminds managers that:
- the categories of resources and rates indicated on the invoice are to be in accordance with the contract, including the overtime rate if they are invoiced
- time sheets are to be included, and hours of work to be verified by a person with a direct knowledge of the service provided
- the hours recorded on the timesheet are to correspond to the hours invoiced