A New York environmental services company is prohibited from doing any future business in Kansas and will reimburse four Kansas cities after being accused of false billing.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt entered into a consent judgment with New York-based Commercial Maintenance Chemical Corporation under the Kansas False Claims Act.

The attorney general’s office accused the company of sending false billings to the cities after delivering free samples and unordered products.
“Protecting Kansas taxpayers from false claims against the public treasury is a priority for our office,” Schmidt said. “This settlement makes clear that local communities’ checkbooks are not open for the taking.”

Under terms of the judgment, the company will refund about $2,400 to the four communities and will also pay for the cost of the attorney general’s investigation. The cities that will receive refunds are:
Emporia: $131.35
Cawker City: $120.48
Wilson: $1,176.33
Concordia: $384.72

The attorney general filed the consent judgment last week in Lyon County District Court. The agreement was approved by the court on Friday. Schmidt brought the enforcement action under the Kansas False Claims Act, which gives the attorney general authority to recover public moneys that should not have been paid from the public treasury of local governments or the State of Kansas.