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Former Duke employee to get millions after DOJ settles whistle-blower lawsuit with university

There's a saying that goes, "The best-laid schemes of mice and men often go awry." With Duke University that can be taken literally.

The Department of Justice announced Monday Duke will pay the government $112.5 million to settle allegations that it used fake research to get federal grant money.

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According to investigators, the research was conducted on mice and the results were falsified. The grants focused on the study of lung function in mice. The government says Duke knowingly submitted the fake results in claims for federal funding from the National Institutes of Health and Environmental Protection Agency. They say the university received millions in grants it would not have gotten without that information.

The allegations were originally brought to light through a whistle-blower lawsuit filed by a former Duke employee. Because of that, the DOJ says that former employee will receive more than $33 million as part of the settlement.

In a statement, Duke said that it discovered the fraud in 2013 when the researcher at the center of the scandal was fired. Its president also said the university is taking steps to improve research integrity.