by Mindy Aguon

Guam - The federal government has filed a civil suit against a company that was contracted by the Guam Waterworks Authority to detect leaks. GRH "(Go Rising Hyline Technologies Construction Company") and Chen Pei Su are being sued under the False Claims Act. They are accused of claiming to purchase leak detection equipment back in June 2011 purchased in Taiwan and seeking reimbursement of more than $117,000.

The money was paid with a portion of the $2 million GWA received in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money. The problem is that nearly a year later the GWA accountants and engineers sought copies of items receipts for the equipment purportedly purchased, but GRH was unable to provide any documentation.

According to news files, GRH intended to use state of the art sonar technology to detect leaks. GWA had hoped to reduce water loss by 6 million gallons a day.

The federal government meanwhile has asked the District Court to impose a judgment against GRH and Su for triple the damages - about $350,000 - as well as various civil penalties.