According to the April 13 settlement agreement, between January 2011 and December 2020, Adobe allegedly made improper payments under its Solution Partner program to companies that had a contractual relationship with the government, which allowed the company “to influence federal purchases of Adobe software,” the DoJ stated.
Adobe allegedly paid the companies a percentage of the software’s purchase price, payments that “constituted prohibited kickbacks that resulted in Adobe causing false claims for payment to be submitted to federal agencies,” the DoJ stated.
The civil settlement resolves claims brought by three former Adobe managers under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private parties to file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. As part of this resolution, the whistleblowers will receive $555,000. 
Jaclyn Jaeger is a contributing editor at Compliance Chief 360° and a freelance business writer based in Manchester, New Hampshire.