AiNET Corp and its former CEO, Deepak Jain, have agreed to pay $1,800,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting false claims for data centre services provided under a contract with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

AiNET operates a data centre in Beltsville, Maryland.

“Those who do business with the government must do so fairly and honestly,” said assistant attorney general Brett Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to pursue contractors that knowingly fail to provide required services to federal agencies.”

The settlement resolves allegations that AiNET and Mr Jain fraudulently induced the SEC to enter the contract by falsely certifying that the AiNET data centre met at least Tier III standards as defined by the Telecommunications Industry Association Standards for Data Centres, TIA 942, and as required by the SEC contract.

The United States alleged that the AiNET data centre failed to comply with Tier III standards and that AiNet and Mr Jain falsely certified to the SEC that experts from an entity called UpTime Council inspected the data centre and determined it was Tier IV, as defined by TIA 942.

The United States alleged that these certifications were false because UpTime Council was not an operating company and never inspected the AiNET data centre.

“Protecting taxpayer dollars is an OIG priority,” said SEC inspector general Kevin Muhlendorf. “The SEC OIG’s dedicated team of investigators and auditors works tirelessly to hold contractors accountable, and we appreciate our continued partnership with the Department of Justice in that shared endeavour.”