September 19, 2005 — Office Depot Office Depot Inc. has paid $4.75 Million to settle a qui tam action filed against it by Safina Office Products and two of its executives, Edward Wilder and Robert Hsi Chou Lee. The allegations were that Office Depot sold office supplies to the Federal Government, and the supplies originated from countries, such as China, which do not have reciprocal trade agreements with the United States. Under the Federal Trade Agreements Act, it is illegal to sell goods to the Federal Government, if those good are from a country which has not entered into a reciprocal trade agreement with the United States. The persons who filed the qui tam action, were awarded $712,500.00 for having filed the claims. See U.S. Dept of Justice Press Release 9/19/05 |