Duke University has agreed to a $112.5 million settlement with the U.S. Justice Department to resolve a whistleblower case that claimed the university submitted false data to earn grant money.
Between 2006 and 2018, the Durham, N.C., school allegedly submitted application and progress reports to the National Institutes of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency that were filled with falsified or fabricated data. In total, the university submitted false data for 30 grants, the whistleblower case claimed.
The Justice Department contends that research results of a study evaluated by a research technician in Duke's Airway Physiology Laboratory was comprised with falsified data.
"Duke knowingly, the government contends, falsified data to claim millions of grant dollars from the National Institutes of Health," said Maureen Dixon, special agent in charge in the office of inspector general for HHS. "[The office of inspector general] and our law enforcement partners will continue to hold such grantees fully accountable, regardless of the length or complexity of the investigation."
Former Duke employee Joseph Thomas filed the whistleblower case under the False Claims Act. He will receive $33.75 million from the settlement.
The claims settled are allegations only, and Duke has not been found liable for the charges.
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