Assembly Square station contractors inflated pay estimates for project

A contractor and subcontractor have agreed to pay to resolve allegations that they knowingly submitted “false and inflated pay estimates” in connection with the construction of Assembly Station in Somerville’s Assembly Square area. Lane Turner/Globe Staff/File

A New Hampshire-based general contractor and one of its subcontractors have agreed to pay more than $420,000 to resolve allegations that they knowingly submitted “false and inflated pay estimates” in connection with the construction of the Assembly Square station on the Orange Line in Somerville.

The Massachusetts attorney general’s office announced Thursday that S&R Construction Enterprises and subcontractor A&S Electrical LLC are barred from bidding on and accepting new public contracts in Massachusetts for five years and one year, respectively. The contractors allegedly violated the state’s False Claims Acts to improperly front-load payments under their contracts.

“Building new public transportation infrastructure is how we will move Massachusetts forward, and taxpayers deserve confidence in how we spend every dollar,” Attorney General Maura Healey said in a statement. “Overbilling and front-loading creates unacceptable risks of delays and degrades the integrity of our public contracting.”

The attorney general’s office investigated the allegations after receiving a referral from the inspector general’s office, which received a tip that A&S Electrical requested inflated invoices from one of its subcontractors.

“This is a solid example of how a call to our fraud hotline led to a joint investigation by the AGO and our office, resulting in significant recovery for the taxpayers,” said Massachusetts Inspector General Glenn A. Cunha.