Federal prosecutors charged a major Big Dig contractor and one of its managers yesterday with scheming to overcharge the government more than $300,000 for work done on the Interstate 93 tunnel.
Shortly afterward, prosecutors and a spokesman for the Boston-based contractor, McCourt Construction Co., said the sides had reached an agreement for the company to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government. Under the terms of the agreement filed in federal court, the company would pay a maximum fine of $628,989, twice the amount McCourt allegedly overcharged.
A criminal complaint filed by US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan alleged that McCourt Construction Co. overbilled the Central Artery/Tunnel Project from 2002 through 2005 by falsely reporting that apprentice ironworkers and other trades workers were higher-paid journeymen.
As a result, McCourt was paid $314,494 more than it should have received, the complaint said.
A separate complaint charged Ryan McCourt of Quincy, who supervised the company's billing, with participating in the scheme.
Although McCourt Construction billed the government for work done by apprentices at journeymen rates, it paid the apprentices their proper rates, the complaint said. The conspiracy involved more than 1,500 instances of overbilling, prosecutors said.
Diana Pisciotta, a spokeswoman for McCourt Construction, said in a statement that bills on the project, for which the company received $245 million, "did not always accurately reflect the type of worker that was performing a particular job on the project."
"This isolated incident, which was solely related to billing practices and had no impact on safety or quality of work performed, is not consistent with McCourt Construction's overall commitment to integrity and a longstanding history of impeccable business practices," said Pisciotta, who added that the company had cooperated with federal and state investigators.
Pisciotta and a spokeswoman for Sullivan said Ryan McCourt has also reached an agreement with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to conspiracy to submit false statements on the cost of a highway project, but the deal was not available on the federal court's website late yesterday.
The charge against Ryan McCourt carries a maximum prison sentence of five years and a $250,000 fine, according to prosecutors.
A hearing on the plea agreements has not been scheduled.
Mac Daniel, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, said the agency applauds the investigation into overcharging on the Big Dig and has cooperated with federal prosecutors.
Three employees of Mass. Electric Construction Co., a McCourt Construction subcontractor, were previously convicted in federal court of submitting false claims in connection with billing apprentice labor at journeymen rates on the $15 billion Big Dig project.
US Chief District Judge Mark L. Wolf sentenced one of the employees to 15 months in federal prison in December for his role in the scheme to defraud the government of more than $80,000. Two other employees were each sentenced to probation in exchange for their cooperation.
At the sentencing, Wolf accused Sullivan's office of not serving as a more aggressive watchdog on the project.
Jonathan Saltzman can be reached at jsaltzman@globe.com.
