Sunnyvale firm to pay $545K to settle claims it sold Chinese-made equipment to U.S. government
https://www.siliconvalley.com/2019/04/12/sunnyvale-firm-to-pay-545k-to-settle-claims-it-sold-chinese-made-equipment-to-u-s-government/
SAN FRANCISCO — A Sunnyvale-based network security company has agreed to pay more than half a million dollars to settle allegations it sold Chinese-made equipment to the U.S. government in violation of the False Claims Act, according to federal prosecutors.
According to a settlement agreement made public Friday, Fortinet Inc. acknowledged that between 2009 and 2016 one of its employees directed the relabeling of products to make them appear as though they were in compliance with the Trade Agreements Act. The act prohibits government contractors from purchasing products that are not entirely from or “substantially transformed” in the United States or other designated countries.