US contractor fined $3.1M for outsourcing work to India

[Recursion]

Source: Sakshi

A US contractor in New York has been ordered to pay a hefty fine of USD 3.1 million dollars for illegally outsourcing government-funded work to a subcontractor based in India.

Focused Technologies Imaging Services, its sole owner Charles Tobin and former co-owner Julie Benware agreed to pay the penalty and fees under an agreement with New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman after admitting that they violated New York federal laws by illegally outsourcing the work to a subcontractor based in Mumbai in 2008 and 2009.

Authorities said the Indian company, which was unaware it had gotten the work illegally, fully and voluntarily cooperated with the investigation.

The agreement arises from a USD 3.45 million contract in 2008-09 between the New York State Industries for the Disabled (NYSID) and the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), to digitise and index approximately 22 million fingerprint cards into a searchable database.

Read more: http://sakshipost.com/index.php/news/international/77667-us-contractor-fined-$3-1mn-for-outsourcing-work-to-india.html

[Wilms]

1. Here's the kicker.

The cards contained critical personal data including Social Security numbers, date of birth and basic physical characteristics. Focused paid the Indian company just over USD 82,000 for this indexing between October, 2008 and September, 2009.

Authorities stressed that there is no evidence the Indian company, nor any of its employees, knew it had obtained the work illegally. Authorities said the outsourcing was illegal because Focused sent personal information of over 16 million people to the Mumbai-based subcontractor that was unauthorized to receive this information.

[Recursion]

2. Yep. And probably over an unsecured FTP server

[Wilms]

3. And of course he can't be put in jail.

He has work to do.

Focused Technologies can continue to contract for government work as a part of the preferred source program under the terms of the settlement.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/news/2016/03/24/menands-company-settles-after-illegally.html

[forest444]

4. Once I asked one of these customer service people how the weather in Mumbai was.

And he told me.

We even got into a nice conversation about life, women, the economy, etc. Best customer service call experience I ever had.

That said, our tax dollars should not be going to subsidize offshore call centers (or offshore anything). Even if so much of it actually does.

[Phlem]

5. "US contractor fined $3.1M for outsourcing work"

Fuck yes.

More of this please.

[whereisjustice]

6. This is a slap on wrist - these were fingerprints, confidential and used for security

unbelievable. 16 million fingerprints now in India. Incredible there isn't jail time for this.

[moonbabygo]

8. oy

If I were a betting man, and I'm not, I would bet they made 6 million on the out sourcing and only had to give up 3.

Crime pays,.... sometimes

[sarcasmo]

7. Kick