Boulder-based weather nonprofit pays $2.4 million to resolve federal fraud allegations

The Center for Severe Weather Research, a Boulder-based non-profit organization, has paid $2.4 cardinal to resoluteness allegations that it engaged successful fraud related to grants it received from 3 national agencies.

The settlement, announced Friday by the U.S. Department of Justice, besides resolves allegations that the principals of CSWR, Joshua Wurman and Ling Chan, improperly obtained payments to which they were not entitled, a justness section quality merchandise said.

“Our bureau works to support taxpayers by stopping radical who wrongfully get national assistance money,” said Acting U.S. Attorney, District of Colorado, Matt Kirsch, successful the release. “We volition prosecute some organizations and individuals if they improperly get national funds oregon neglect to way those funds with capable safeguards and controls.”

The improperly utilized grants to CSWR were from: the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an bureau wrong the U.S. Department of Commerce. The grants were awarded for technological research.

The Justice Department alleges that from 2004 to 2020, CSWR improperly requested payments from national grants for expenses that CSWR had not incurred. The nonprofit besides had inadequate interior controls for the national funds it received, including inadequate documentation and controls implicit ample currency transactions, the merchandise said. CSWR conducted technological upwind probe popularly known arsenic “storm chasing” with its “Doppler connected Wheels” fleet.

The resolved allegations against Wurman and Chan acrophobic rental payments for CSWR offices successful their idiosyncratic residence, the merchandise said. The brace repaid $203,776 arsenic portion of the settlement.

“Each twelvemonth the National Science Foundation awards millions of dollars successful grants to beforehand promising technological research,” said NSF Inspector General Allison Lerner, successful the release. “However, the Foundation expects assistance recipients to travel national outgo principles. Expenses charged to grants indispensable beryllium allowable, allocable, and reasonable. I commend the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our investigative partners for their enactment connected upholding national assistance rules successful this case.”

The lawsuit was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Wang.