FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         CIV
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1995                        (202) 616-2765
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                 
 PARSONS ENGINEERING PAYS U.S. $3,225,000 TO SETTLE FRAUD CLAIMS 

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Parsons Engineering Sciences Inc. of
Pasadena, California, will pay the United States $3,225,000 to
settle allegations the company knowingly billed the government on
two Air Force contracts for employees' labor rates that were too
high for their work experience, the Department of Justice
announced today.
     Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division Frank
Hunger said the payment settles a qui tam lawsuit, United States
ex rel. Tucker v. Engineering Sciences, Inc., filed in U.S.
District Court in Raleigh, North Carolina, on April 21, 1993, by
J.R. Tucker, a former Parsons employee, on behalf of the United
States.  Tucker will receive $354,750 of the recovery.
     A government investigation disclosed the mischarging by
Parsons may have been unintentional at the start but continued
even after the company discovered the discrepancies.  Parsons
told the government about the excessive invoices six months after
discovering the error, then offered to correct the invoices for
an amount that grossly underestimated the mischarged amount.  
     "We hope this settlement sends the message that there is no
'grace period' for internal investigation while a contractor
continues to submit knowingly inflated bills to the government,"
said Hunger.  "We are pleased, however, that Parsons worked with
us to identify the problem and compensate the government for the
excessive charges."  
     Today's settlement involved mischarges at Brooks Air Force
Base in Texas for six months from late 1992 through early 1993   
on two contracts under which Parsons billed the government a
total of $76 million for environmental surveys and similar
services from April 1992 through December 1994.  The settlement
also included a recovery for the period when the excessive
billing appears to have been unintentional.
     Under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, a
private party can file a suit on behalf of the government and
receive a portion of the recovery if the United States takes over
the case and prosecutes it successfully.  In this action, the
government, which alleged Parsons was liable under the False
Claims Act, intervened on October 3, 1994.  
                               ###
95-534