EMC Denies Justice Dept. Allegations

"EMC did not make improper payments to business partners and did not violate the False Claims Act," the company said in a statement provided to Channelweb.com. "The matters at issue in this case are historical in nature; some of the allegations relate to events nearly 10 years old. We will vigorously defend this case and the many years EMC has spent providing mission-critical information infrastructure solutions to the U.S. government."

The Justice Department's complaint alleges that EMC provided "improper payments and other things of value to systems integrators and other alliance partners on contracts with government agencies."

The Justice Department also alleges that EMC made false statements to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to get higher pricing on its products for government contracts. The Justice Department said EMC submitted false claims to the U.S. for IT hardware and services on "numerous government contracts" dating from "the late 1990s to the present."

According to the Justice Department, the suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Little Rock, Ark., by Norman Rile and Neal Roberts under whistle-blower provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private individuals with knowledge of past or present fraud against the U.S. federal government to bring suit on the government's behalf.

The government joined the suit "as a part of the Department of Justice's continuing efforts to ensure the integrity of the procurement process," Acting Assistant Attorney General Michael F. Hertz said in a statement.

EMC Monday addressed the investigation in its 10-K filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

"We believe that we have meritorious factual and legal defenses to the allegations raised and, if the matter is not resolved and proceeds to litigation, we intend to defend vigorously," EMC said.