FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         CIV
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 1994                          (202) 514-2007
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                
      COMPUTER MAKER WILL PAY U.S. $1.7 MILLION IN SETTLING
     ALLEGATIONS IT FAILED TO INFORM GOVERNMENT ON CONTRACTS


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- One of the country's largest
manufacturers of software that unifies numerous office computers
into one system will pay the government $1.725 million to settle
allegations it overcharged the United States for computer
equipment, the Department of Justice announced today.
     Assistant Attorney General Frank Hunger of the Civil
Division said the settlement resolves charges brought against
Novell Inc. of Provo, Utah, by a former employee, Mary Slutman,
under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act in U.S.
District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1992.  
     The complaint alleged that Novell failed to inform
government negotiators fully about its pricing policies and to
advise them that companies that sold Novell products to federal
agencies under separate contracts received rebates.  Novell was
required by the contract solicitations and federal law to provide
accurate information to the General Services Administration
contract negotiators. 
     Novell, one of the largest manufacturers of LANS (local area
networks) in the country, won four one-year GSA contracts for
automated data processing equipment and software between 1985 and
1989.  The contracts set the prices, terms and conditions under
which federal agencies could purchase products from Novell.  
     Under the settlement, Slutman will receive $310,500 for
bringing the matter to the attention of the government.  Under
the qui tam amendments of the False Claims Act, a private party
can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a
portion of the settlement if the government takes over the case
and prosecutes it successfully.  
      The case was audited and investigated by the Office of
Inspector General of the GSA and the Civil Division.  The Civil
Division negotiated the settlement.
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94-435