$6.5 Million Settlement Reached in Whistleblower Case at Largest U.S. Nuclear Waste Treatment Facility
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 24, 2025
MEDIA CONTACTS
Mehri & Skalet: Taj Magruder, taj@newheightscommunications.com
Teller Law: Stephen Teller, steve@stellerlaw.com
Smith & Lowney: Meredith Crafton, meredith@smithandlowney.com
Washington, D.C. – Today, a $6.5 million settlement was announced to resolve allegations of widespread timecard fraud at the Hanford nuclear site in Washington State. The allegations, brought in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act, claim that a federal contractor charged the U.S. Department of Energy for inflated hours, costing taxpayers millions of dollars.
Hanford is the country’s largest, most expensive, and most contaminated environmental cleanup project, focused on disposing of World War II-era nuclear waste. The whistleblower worked for Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), a prime contractor at Hanford. The complaint alleges that WRPS fraudulently billed the Department of Energy for inflated hours — charging for time that employees spent watching television, playing video games, or socializing, and scheduling them for overtime that was almost as unproductive as regular work time.
The lawsuit was filed by a team of attorneys from Washington, D.C.-based Mehri & Skalet, PLLC, and Seattle-based Teller Law and Smith & Lowney, PLLC. The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington investigated and corroborated the whistleblower’s allegations before joining the lawsuit.
“This case is a powerful reminder about the importance of speaking up and holding power to account, especially when the stakes are so high,” said Richard Condit, a partner at Mehri & Skalet and co-chair of the firm’s Whistleblower Rights practice. “Our team is very pleased that our client will receive a near-maximum whistleblower award in recognition of the substantial risk and effort involved in bringing this case forward.”
The whistleblower received a near-maximum award due to his extensive support of the Office of Inspector General’s investigation. In addition to exposing fraud, the whistleblower endured significant retaliation after attempting to stop WRPS’s misconduct. As a result, the legal team also pursued employment claims on the whistleblower’s behalf.
“Workers at Hanford and nuclear sites across the country need to know they have options and legal protection. They are doing dangerous and important work and have the power to improve accountability of contractors managing these sites,” said Meredith Crafton of Smith & Lowney. “It is critical to ensure that whistleblowers are fully compensated, not only for exposing fraud, but also for the retaliation they so often suffer when they do the right thing in the face of misconduct.”
“We were honored to be a part of law enforcement’s efforts to root out fraud, waste and abuse. Taxpayers should know the OIGs have been effective watchdogs from within the government, and that anyone can help when they know about fraud by contacting a False Claims Act lawyer,” said Stephen Teller of Teller Law. “We hope the Department of Energy will be stricter with the next contractor so that Hanford can be cleaned up more quickly.”
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For more information, see the press release from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.
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