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Medical college settles research grant fraud allegations

Weill Medical College of Cornell University will pay $4.4 million to settle allegations of research grant fraud. The government alleged that Weill violated the False Claims Act by improperly reporting and accounting for spending on grants from the National Institutes of Health. The suit charged that Weill violated the so-called “33% rule,” which prohibits any one researcher from garnering more than a third of an NIH grant, allowing “one researcher to . . . in effect dominate the research at the (PGCRC) at the expense of the government.”

The suit was brought under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which allows a private party who discovers fraud to sue on behalf of the government.

Newsday reported on the story on June 21, 2005.

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