[co author: Markus Speidel]
On Tuesday, January 19, 2021, the Department of Justice announced charges against two providers of foreign language services for conspiracy to defraud the government on a multimillion dollar contract by impeding, impairing, obstructing, and defeating competitive bidding. The two companies, Comprehensive Language Center Inc. (CLCI) and Berlitz Languages Inc. (Berlitz), have admitted to the charges.
Berlitz and CLCI admitted to violating 18 U.S.C. § 371 by discussing, agreeing to, and facilitating the submission of false and misleading information to the National Security Agency (NSA) between March and December 2017. The charges relate to a multiple award indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract vehicle for foreign language instruction, under which the NSA awarded three prime contracts. To qualify as technically acceptable, offerors needed the capacity to provide language training in all six specified geographic areas. Following award
Foreign-Language Training Companies Admit to Participating in Conspiracy to Defraud the United States
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Two providers of foreign-language services, Comprehensive Language Center Inc. (CLCI), based in the Washington, D.C., area, and Berlitz Languages Inc. (Berlitz), based in New Jersey, were charged with participating in a conspiracy to defraud the United States by impeding, impairing, obstructing, and defeating competitive bidding for a multi-million dollar foreign-language training contract issued by the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2017, the Department of Justice announced today.
“These charges reaffirm the Antitrust Division’s commitment to combating anticompetitive conduct that victimizes government agencies,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The actions of these companies corrupted the competitive bidding process put into place by the NSA for vital language training services.”