by Mindy Aguon

Guam - Supertyphoon Paka may have been in 1997, but the government is still disputing how much is owed to a company that was contracted to help remove typhoon debris. A settlement that was made by the previous administration is hotly contested and now the Attorney General's Office is moving to get $11 million back.

The AG's Office has been trying to recover the large amount of money, which was paid to DRC, Inc. in 2008 without its knowledge. The money was more than what the office believes should have been paid to the company. A settlement agreement that was signed four years ago to the day isn't valid, according to the AG's Office, which filed a civil complaint against DRC. The company was hired in 1998 to conduct cleanup work for debris removal after Supertyphoon Paka.

In 2004, the company sued the government for $7 million plus interest because it alleged it had never been paid. The Federal Emergency Management Agency authorized payments for GovGuam expenditures related to the cleanup. On March 14, 2008, DRC and GovGuam through then-governor Felix Camacho's chief of staff, George Bamba, entered into a settlement agreement for $11.1 million and ten days later, the payment was made. The AG's Office wasn't made aware of the settlement until several weeks later after DRC had been already been paid.

But the Attorney General's Office contends that the money was "wrongfully obtained by DRC from GovGuam either by mistake, deceit, negligent or intentional misrepresentation, or connivance or conspiracy with the GovGuam official or officials responsible for execution of the settlement agreement."

They also state that DRC was not owed this money by the Government of Guam or otherwise entitled to obtain this money from GovGuam. Assistant Attorney General William Bischoff noted that DRC's case against the government was not settled and no judgment has been entered.

According to the complaint, the purported "settlement agreement" was drafted by DRC and its attorney, David Lujan, and it falsely recited that DRC was then-currently owed approximately $11.8 million.

The lawsuit states that the $11.1 million that was paid to DRC pursuant to the settlement agreement was at least a million dollars more than GovGuam would have even been liable to pay DRC even if GovGuam had lost the lawsuit completely. The AG's Office contends the 2008 agreement was "unlawful" because it required the authorization of the attorney general and the approval of the court, neither of which was obtained.

In February of last year, that agreement was set aside by a court order and for the last year the government has made efforts to recover the money. But according to the complaint, DRC has failed and refused to return the $11.1 million to the Government of Guam.

Bamba told KUAM News in previous interviews that even if the settlement were invalidated, the government would still have to pay DRC and then pay the $11 million back to the federal government.