U.S. Army to Receive $15.5 Million Refund from Leo Burnett

The Leo Burnett Advertising Agency will pay the U.S. Army over $15 million to settle a lawsuit related to irregular billing. Adweek reports that the case stems from a whistleblower lawsuit filed by some of the companies employees over the fact that they billed in-house work by subsidiaries as actually done by subcontractors. The rates for the subcontractor were higher leading to the overcharge. The company did not admit guilt as part of the settlement, stating that the Army was aware of the work and that the over charge was inadvertent. Leo Burnett lost the account in 2006 to another company.