On May 5, 2025, the Department of Justice (United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California) announced that San Jose-based robotics/AI company Vimaan Robotics agreed to pay $1.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the federal False Claims Act (FCA) by improperly accepting grant mondh that it was ineligible to receive.
Specifically, the DOJ alleged that Vimaan violated the FCA when it received grant funds from the National Science Foundation (NSC) under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. According to the DOJ’s press release, SBIR “terms and conditions” preclude companies that are majority-owned by one or more venture capital operating companies from applying for or receiving an award. The DOJ alleged that Vimaan failed to disclose that it had become majority-owned by one or more venture capital companies a month prior to receiving the SBIR award. Thereafter, the DOJ contends that Vimaan submitted 14 separate requests to NSF for disbursement and falsely certified its eligibility to receive the award funds.
This settlement serves as an important reminder that regardless of size or industry, if you are receiving funds from the federal government, it is extremely likely that those funds come with a myriad of rules, regulations, terms, and conditions. If you do not comply with any of the conditions placed upon receipt of those funds, not only could you be required to pay the money back, but you could also be subject to treble damages and significant per claim penalties under the FCA, and other sanctions including debarment/exclusion.
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The attorneys at Chilivis Grubman represent businesses and individuals in connection with government investigations, False Claims Act litigation, and related compliance and litigation matters. If you need assistance with such a matter, please contact us.
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