Cisco, Westcon to pay $48 mln to settle U.S. case-UPDATE 1

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Thursday September 09, 2010 01:10:21 AM GMT

(adds Cisco, Justice Department comments)

WASHINGTON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Cisco Systems Inc and Westcon Group North America agreed to pay $48 million to settle allegations they gave incomplete data during contract talks with the federal government, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday.

Cisco products had incorrect prices and as a result false claims were submitted to the federal government, the Justice Department said.

Cisco spokeswoman Kristin Carvell said the settlement involved a small fraction of sales between 1997 and 2009 and "does not impact any current government business.

"Cisco and Westcon have been working with the DOJ on this issue for years, and we are very pleased to resolve this matter," she said.

The Justice Department said that as part of the settlement it would agree to dismiss a 2004 whistle-blower suit against Cisco. (Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky, editing by Carol Bishopric)

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