Summary

On May 28, 2015, a civil judgment was entered in U.S. District Court, Chicago, Illinois, against Sound Solutions Windows & Doors, LLC, in the amount of $5.8 million, resulting from an OIG investigation.

On December 28, 2009, the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters filed a qui tam civil complaint alleging Sound Solutions Windows & Doors, LLC. (Sound Solutions) of Chicago, Illinois, violated the False Claims Act. The qui tam alleged that in 2008, Sound Solutions used a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE), FCJ Real Estate Development Company, Inc., as a conduit or "pass-through" to obtain the appearance of DBE participation on the O'Hare International Airport, Residential Sound Insulation Program contracts funded by Federal Aviation Administration Airport Improvement Program grants.

Sound Solutions submitted ten claims for payment on the O'Hare contract for window replacement, each certifying that all work was performed and all materials were supplied in accordance with the terms and conditions of the construction contract between the City of Chicago and Sound Solutions. The final two claims in 2009 and 2010 each contained a DBE status report signed by Spielman, as president of Sound Solutions, certifying that over $2.3 million had been paid under the contract to valid DBE subcontractors, when in fact it was not.