WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) – Photoshop maker Adobe Inc (ADBE.O) has agreed to pay $3 million to settle U.S. kickback allegations involving federal software program gross sales, the U.S. Justice Division stated in an announcement on Thursday.
The settlement resolves allegations that Adobe made improper funds underneath its Resolution Associate program to firms that had a contractual or different relationship with the federal government that allowed them to affect federal purchases of Adobe software program, the Justice Division stated.
Between January 2011 and December 2020, Adobe allegedly paid the businesses a proportion of the acquisition worth of the software program, based on the Justice Division.
The US contends that these funds constituted prohibited kickbacks that resulted in Adobe inflicting false claims for fee to be submitted to federal businesses.
The corporate stated on Thursday that it had cooperated with the federal government because it started its probe in 2018 and was happy “to have this matter behind us.”
“Those that do enterprise with the federal government are prohibited from paying kickbacks, which can lead to pointless purchases and enhance prices to taxpayers,” stated Brian Boynton, head of the Justice Division's civil division.
“We'll proceed to make use of all acceptable instruments to safeguard the integrity of the federal procurement course of,” Boynton stated.
Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; enhancing by Jonathan Oatis
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