The existence of routine audit procedures, such as are present in this case and in essentially all government contracts, are not a substitute for, and do not obviate, reliance on the fundamental duties and premises of integrity and honesty imposed by the law of fraud. Rather, audits are necessarily imperfect backstops that promote, but do not guarantee, such integrity and should be seen as a complement to, not a replacement for, reliance on the honesty of representations made in the course of commercial dealings.

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