State College-based company agrees to pay $70,000 to settle federal investigation
A Centre Region research company agreed to pay $70,000 to resolve a federal investigation, a federal prosecutor said Monday in a statement.
The investigation began after Nascent Devices, which did not admit any liability in the settlement, received nearly $225,000 in funding from the National Science Foundation.
Nascent, which is based in State College, was accused of improperly charging unallowable costs toward the funding, applying a “significantly higher” overhead rate to account for spending too little and providing false certifications on its final report in 2015.
“Potential false claims under grant programs ... impact citizens and potential grant recipients alike,” U.S. Middle District of Pennsylvania Attorney David Freed said in a statement. “It is vital that we hold grantees accountable.”
Nascent did not respond Monday to a request for comment.