XPost: or.politics

On Mon, 10 Feb 2025 23:11:20 -0000 (UTC)
Pam <x@y.com> wrote:

Trump Team Dismantles Efforts to Find a Cure for Cancer and Other
Deadly Disorders and Diseases

A lie.


https://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps/html5/section_2/2.3.10_fraud__waste_and_abuse_of_nih_grant_funds.htm

Any individual who becomes aware of the existence (or apparent existence) of fraud, waste, or abuse related to NIH grants or grant funds should consider contact:

Your institution's Office of Sponsored Research, Compliance Office, or other responsible office,
The NIH CGMO listed in the NoA for the IC that funded the grant,
The DGCO/OPERA/OER.
In addition, allegations of criminal offenses should be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, OIG Hotline.

The OIG has authority within HHS to conduct criminal investigations. The HHS OIG maintains a post office box and a toll-free hotline for receiving information from individuals concerning fraud, waste, or abuse under HHS grants and cooperative agreements.
The identity of the caller is kept confidential, and callers are not required to give their names. The address and telephone number of the OIG and the OIG hotline are included in Part III.

Further allegations of non-criminal misuse of grant funds, and recipient conflict of interest should be reported to the NIH OMA.

OMA provides a centralized management survey and review capability to promote program integrity, conducts appraisals of alleged incidents of waste, fraud, and abuse and has lead responsibility for cases received through the Office of Inspector General (
OIG) Hotline that are referred to NIH for action. OMA has no authority to undertake criminal investigations. OMA refers all allegations of criminal offenses to the OIG for investigation. The address and telephone number for the OMA, DPI are included in
Part III.

False statements involving falsified, fabricated, or plagiarized information identified during research misconduct proceedings should be reported to the NIH Extramural Research Integrity Officer.

Examples of fraud, waste, and abuse that should be reported include, but are not limited to, embezzlement, misuse, or misappropriation of grant funds or property, and false statements, whether by organizations or individuals. Other examples include theft
of grant funds for personal use; using funds for non-grant-related purposes; theft of federally owned property or property acquired or leased under a grant; charging the Federal government for the services of "ghost" individuals; charging inflated
building rental fees for a building owned by the recipient; submitting false financial reports; and submitting false financial data in bids submitted to the recipient (for eventual payment under the grant).

The Federal government may pursue administrative, civil, or criminal action under a variety of statutes relating to fraud and making false statement or claims. Part II includes administrative and other remedies the Federal government may use if a
recipient deliberately withholds information or submits fraudulent information or does not comply with applicable requirements. Even if a grant is not awarded, the applicant may be subject to penalties if the information contained in or submitted as part
of an application, including its certifications and assurances, is found to be false, fictitious, or fraudulent.

The Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986, 31 U.S.C. 3801 et seq., provides for the administrative imposition by HHS of civil penalties and assessments against any person who knowingly makes false, fictitious, or fraudulent claims to the Federal
government for money, including money representing grants, loans, or benefits. A civil penalty of not more than $5,500 may be assessed for each such claim. If a grant is awarded and payment is made on a false or fraudulent claim, an assessment of not
more than twice the amount of the claim, up to $150,000, may be made in lieu of damages. Regulations established by HHS at 45 CFR Part 79 specify the review process for imposing civil penalties and assessments, including hearing and appeal rights.

The Criminal False Claims Act, 18 U.S.C. 287, and 18 U.S.C. 1001, provides for criminal prosecution of a person who knowingly makes or presents any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or representations or claims against the United States.
Violations of these statutes carry a maximum sentence of five and eight years imprisonment, respectively.

The Civil False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. 3729(a), provides for imposition of penalties and damages by the United States, through civil litigation, against any person who knowingly makes a false or fraudulent claim for payment, makes or uses a false record
or false statement to get a false claim paid or approved, or conspires to defraud the Federal government to get a false claim paid. A "claim" includes any request or demand for money or property made to the United States or to a contractor, recipient, or
other recipient, if the Federal government provides or will reimburse any portion of the funds claimed. Civil penalties of $5,500 to $11,000 may be imposed for each false claim, plus damages of up to three times the amount of the damages the government
sustains because of the violation, and the costs of any civil action brought to recover such penalties and damages.

NIH also may administratively recover misspent grant funds pursuant to
the authorities contained in 2 CFR Part 200.

https://energycommerce.house.gov/posts/e-and-c-republicans-to-nih-is-agency-recovering-all-misused-taxpayer-dollars
Washington, D.C. — In a letter to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Monica Bertagnolli, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY), and Subcommittee on Oversight
and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) write regarding their investigation into how NIH recovers misused funds from recipient institutions.

KEY LETTER EXCERPT:

“While NIH funding has resulted in significant advances in science and aided in medical breakthroughs, it is also susceptible to fraud and other misconduct. With more than $35 billion in extramural grants awarded in fiscal year 2023 alone, it is
essential that the NIH ensures grant funds are used appropriately and identifies and recovers any misused or abused funds.”

BACKGROUND:

The NIH and its institutes and centers may also become aware of financial misuse or fraud through allegations and complaints made by colleagues at the recipient institution, whistleblowers, or even anonymous complaints.
Between fiscal years 2013 and 2022, the NIH received an increasing number of allegations of grant fraud—such as embezzlement and theft of funds—totaling more than 200 allegations.
Several public reports have uncovered substantiated cases of misuse of funding provided by the NIH—including findings that researchers at both Harvard University and Scripps Research Institute improperly charged or overcharged the NIH for time
researchers spent on grant activities, leading to over $1.3 million and $10 million being refunded to the NIH respectively.
During the same period, the NIH also received more than 1,000 allegations of research misconduct.
The ORI’s website summarizes nearly 30 cases of substantiated research misconduct—including falsification, fabrication, or plagiarism of data or findings supported by NIH-funded research—since 2018.
These cases involve hundreds of millions of dollars, and it is unknown how much of that funding was used specifically by the person(s) found to have participated in the misconduct.
There are only a handful of public cases in which the NIH has managed to recover some funds from institutions found to have failed to protect the integrity of NIH funding.
For example, in 2019, Duke University agreed to repay $112.5 million to resolve allegations that applications and progress reports submitted to the federal government—including the NIH—contained falsified research.

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