County files suit over project billing

Thursday, Sept. 15, 2005 | 10:07 a.m.

The county has filed a lawsuit against the contractor for the Clark County Detention Center expansion project to recover $10 million in taxpayer money that it alleges was unlawfully obtained through fraudulent billing.

The complaint accuses the contractor, AF Construction Company Inc., of presenting false claims to the county, county spokesman Erik Pappa said.

The complaint accuses AF of "knowingly presenting false claims to Clark County," according to the county. The suit is seeking damages for false claims, false records and false statements used and made during the project, the county stated.

The suit also named AF's surety as well as contractors and subcontractors, the county stated.

An arbitration hearing is scheduled for next month. In July, an independent panel of three arbitrators ruled that the county had enough evidence to sue the company to recover the money, Pappa said.

The detention center project consisted of a new, 379,000-square-foot, seven-story detention facility tower connected to the existing building with room for an additional 1,372 beds, nearly doubling the inmate capacity.

In November 1999 the county awarded the contract to AF Construction. The bid amount was $66.4 million. By the end of the project, AF billed the county just over $98 million and was paid $93.4 million.

The contract required AF to complete the project within 546 days -- May 27, 2001 -- but it wasn't finished until Oct. 13, 2003.

An investigation revealed that the company charged the county twice for the same work and created false records to obtain the payments, Pappa said.

According to the suit, the county's other allegations against the company include manipulating construction schedules, claiming delays that were not real, altering documents to conceal the false statements.

AF Construction could not be reached for comment.