Raleigh professor accused of false expenses for hemp research. How much he owes
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Professor Michael Harrington agreed to pay $152,500 to resolve false funding claims.
- Genoverde allegedly made false, duplicative NSF SBIR expense claims for hemp research.
- Settlement amount was informed by the False Claims Act’s penalty rules.
Federal authorities say a Shaw University professor who runs a company that conducts cannabinoid research was accused of wrongdoing in seeking National Science Foundation grants and pandemic-relief loans.
Now, the professor has agreed to pay more than $152,000 to resolve the allegations.
Shaw professor Michael Harrington co-founded Genoverde Biosciences in 2015 “to advance development of intellectual property related to cannabinoid tissue culture protocols ... and full scale production testing from plantlet to flower.” Cannabinoids are chemical compounds produced by cannabis plants.
Genoverde’s facilities include a research lab at Shaw, a greenhouse at NC State University, and farmland in Eastern North Carolina.
Genoverde received Small Business Innovation Research awards from the National Science Foundation for research on harvesting industrial hemp. But Ellis Boyle, U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of North Carolina, says the company was accused of making false and duplicative expense claims.
“Small Business Innovation Research awards are highly competitive grants intended to fund American-owned small businesses to conduct research that will lead to the commercialization of innovative new products and services,” said Megan E. Wallace, NSF’s acting inspector general, in a statement.
“The NSF Office of Inspector General is committed to ensuring the integrity of NSF’s SBIR grant program by holding accountable those who choose to engage in false claims and misrepresentation schemes.”
Genoverde was also accused of improperly obtaining COVID-era Paycheck Protection Program loans and PPP loan forgiveness. PPP loans were low-interest, forgivable loans that helped small businesses pay their employees during the pandemic. The Small Business Administration’s inspector general estimates $64 billion in fraud from the PPP.
The civil claims were based on allegations, with no judicial determination or admission of liability, according to the US attorney’s office. The amount of the settlement was informed by the False Claims Act, which mandates that the government “recover three times the amount of money falsely obtained, plus substantial penalties for each false claim submitted.”
“This civil fraud settlement demonstrates our commitment to protect taxpayer money and guard the integrity of our grant programs,” said Boyle in a statement. “Our office will zealously pursue damages and civil penalties against grant recipients whether the amounts taken are large or small.”
Harrington has worked at Shaw, a private, historically Black university in downtown Raleigh, since 2019.
Harrington, Genoverde, and Shaw could not immediately be reached for comment.
