Oracle has paid US$8 million to settle charges that from 1997 through 2003 it fraudulently billed the US federal government for training through the company's Oracle University program.

The charges arose from a whistleblower lawsuit brought by a former vice president at Oracle University, according to a statement issued Friday by the United States Attorney's office for the District of Massachusetts. Oracle University is the unit of the database vendor that sells training to customers.

The case was under seal until late Thursday because it involved a whistleblower suit.

Oracle was accused of collecting fees before providing training, forfeiting to itself millions of dollars in advance payments for training services that were not used within a year, and failing to comply with federal travel regulations in billing for travel and expenses, according to the statement. After the investigation began, Oracle stopped the practices, the statement said.

As a result of the settlement, the whistleblower in the case will receive $1.58 million of the $8 million total settlement amount, according to the statement.