ballpoint pen Florida's attorney general is investigating Office Depot Inc. for alleged bad business practice in its office supplies contract with state and local agencies. Tootoo.com learns the accusation is that Office Depot bid low but sold high. The state is looking into whether the company offered low-price items in its contract but later sold higher-priced alternatives. The civil inquiry comes on the heels of similar investigations in at least four other states where auditors have questioned the Delray Beach retailer's pricing, citing frequent overcharges for pens, envelopes, scissors and other supplies. "The Office Depot investigation is active and ongoing," said Sandi Copes, spokeswoman for the Florida Attorney General's Office. "We investigate when we believe there may be violations ... particularly when there is a discernible pattern of alleged behavior that would violate the law." Office Depot spokesman Brian Levine said Friday that the company would cooperate with any state agencies if asked. He called the pricing allegations "baseless," citing a "tremendous amount of misinformation." "We work very hard each and every day to ensure that we are fully compliant with our contractual arrangements, and we pride ourselves on our commitment to pricing integrity," Levine wrote in an e-mail. At issue is Office Depot's four-year contract with Florida worth a potential $180 million. There is no guaranteed dollar value in the contract but sales totaled $46 million in 2007, the first year of the agreement, said James Miller, a spokesman for the state Department of Management Services. That includes sales to state offices, cities, counties, airport authorities and other government agencies. The attorney general's inquiry was prompted in part by complaints from a former Office Depot employee who managed government contracts for the retailer for 11 years. David Sherwin of Fort Myers, a self-described whistle-blower who says he was fired in April when he took his concerns to management, has sent information to local, state and federal officials alleging that the retailer has fraudulently overcharged more than 500 government agencies by millions of dollars over the past several years.
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