ST. CLAIR COUNTY, Ill. (Tribune News Service) — An Alaska-based firm will pay $3.5 million to settle allegations that it faked customer surveys to get more business through a program administered at Scott Air Force Base, federal authorities said Thursday.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Southern Illinois said in a release that employees of Denali Group Inc. impersonated members of the military in submitting false satisfaction surveys with perfect scores for Denali. The company moved service members’ personal property when they relocate.

The fake telephone surveys were submitted between 2015 and 2019, the news release said.

During that period, the release said, Denali and other companies competed for such shipments and the number awarded to each depended heavily on scores in the customer surveys.

“Denali’s fake surveys gave them an unfair advantage over other contractors and shortchanged our military families moving through Scott Air Force Base,” U.S. Attorney Steven Weinhoeft said.

“Companies doing business with the federal government are expected to act with honesty and integrity, and we will use all our criminal and civil tools to protect taxpayer dollars from waste, fraud and abuse.”

The news release said Denali employees called the customer survey line using spoofing applications to mask their phone numbers. They also disguised their voices by using voice-changing technology and speaking with accents, the release said.

The affected program, which involves moves of military personnel around the world, is administered by the U.S. Transportation Command based at Scott.

The program provides moving and storage services to the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard and civilian employees of the Department of Defense.

The Transportation Command removed Denali from the program in 2022.

© 2025 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Visit www.stltoday.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.