Duke University will pay $112.5 million to the federal government to settle allegations that researchers submitted applications and reports containing falsified data to win more than two dozen grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency, the Justice Department said on Monday.
“Taxpayers expect and deserve that federal grant dollars will be used efficiently and honestly,” Matthew G.T. Martin, United States attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina, said in a statement. “May this serve as a lesson that the use of false or fabricated data in grant applications or reports is completely unacceptable.” The allegations were initially made in a whistle-blower lawsuit brought by Joseph Thomas, a research analyst who worked in Duke’s pulmonary division. He claimed that another researcher, Erin Potts-Kant, had fabricated data linked to as much as $200 million in federal research grants.
Mr. Thomas filed the lawsuit under the False Claims Act, a federal law that allows individuals to sue on behalf of the government. Under the law, the plaintiff may receive a portion of the damages. Mr. Thomas is to receive more than $33 million from the settlement. Neither Mr. Thomas nor Ms. Potts-Kant was immediately available for comment. Although Mr. Thomas’s lawsuit alleged that the fraud occurred between 2006 and 2013, the Justice Department said that the settlement announced Monday resolved allegations covering a longer period, from 2006 to 2018.
美国司法部周一表示，杜克大学将向联邦政府支付1.125亿美元，用以解决有关研究人员为了赢得国立卫生研究院和环境保护局的24项拨款，而提交含有虚假数据的申请和报告的指控。
北卡莱罗纳州中区检察官Matthew G.T. Martin在一份声明中说：“纳税人期望且有权了解联邦拨款资金高效和公开透明的用途。拨款申请或报告中使用虚假或伪造的数据令人无法接受，希望这次能吸取教训。”这些指控最初是在杜克大学肺科研究分析师Joseph Thomas提起的检举诉讼中提出的。他声称，另一位研究人员Erin Potts-Kant编造了高达2亿美元的联邦研究拨款补助的相关数据。
Thomas先生根据《虚假索赔法》提起诉讼。这是一部联邦法律，允许个人代表政府提起诉讼。根据法律，原告可以或可部分损害赔偿，Thomas将据此获得超过3300万美元。Thomas和Potts-Kant都未立即发表评论。尽管Thomas的诉讼指控欺诈发生在2006至2013年间，但司法部表示，周一宣布的和解协议解决了2006至2018年间更长时期的指控。
misconduct 行为不正，不规矩
settle 解决，安排
allegation 指控
submit 递交，呈送
application 申请
falsify 篡改，伪造，弄虚作假
dozen 一打（12个），文中two dozens=24个，由此可见dozen可数“s”；同理还有decade十年，two decades=twenty years
grant 拨款，补助金
the National Institutes of Health 国立卫生研究院
the Environmental Protection Agency 环保局
attorney 代理人，律师
lawsuit 诉讼，诉讼案件
fabricate 捏造，制造，装配
on behalf of 代表，为了…的利益
portion 一部分
settlement 解决，结算
fraud 欺诈，骗子
Duke University will pay $112.5 million to the federal government to settle allegations thatresearchers submitted applications and reports containing falsified data to win more than two dozen grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency, the Justice Department said on Monday. 句子很长，但结构不复杂，不要见到长句子就产生心理畏惧。耐心分析成分：1.主干，“Duke University will pay $112.5 million to the federal government to settle allegations”；2.后半句“that researchers submitted applications …and the Environmental Protection Agency”是that引导的定语从句，修饰allegation；3.定语从句中“to winmore than two dozen grants”目的状语，说明作假虚报的目的；4. 结尾的“the Justice Department said on Monday”是一个后置结构，“xxx说”的这件事，也可放在整句开头。
He claimed that another researcher, Erin Potts-Kant, had fabricated data linked to as much as $200 million in federal research grants. “as much as” 表示具体的数量，其后通常接有具体数量，其意为“……之多”“多达”“整整”，强调“多”。
Mr. Thomas is to receive more than $33 million from the settlement. “is to receive”是一个主系表结构，to do是动词不定式，前面搭配be动词，“is to do”表示将要做某事，文中是“将要得到”3300万美元。
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