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The cell-phone-service company was forced to help several federal agencies, including the FBI and the DEA, perform court-ordered wiretaps between 2007 and 2010, according to the lawsuit.
The feds were supposed to pay the phone firm back for the wire-tapping service — but Sprint over-billed them by $21 million, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in San Francisco on Monday.
“Sprint inflated its charges by approximately 58 percent,” court papers state.
The government now demands triple the damages – a total of $63 million — and “unspecified civil fines,” according to the suit.
But a Sprint spokesman insists the firm has done nothing wrong
“The invoices Sprint has submitted to the government fully comply with the law.
We have fully cooperated with this investigation and intend to defend this matter vigorously,” said Sprint spokesman John Taylor.
The lawsuit may stem from a 1994 law that requires communication companies to upgrade facilities to comply with court-ordered wiretaps.
Phone firms argued that the government should foot the bill for new equipment, but The Federal Communications Commission ruled in 2006 it was the responsibility of phone companies.
Sprint also over-charged the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and other government agencies, court papers state.
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