A former top salesman at BMC Software has filed a federal lawsuit accusing the company of firing him after he refused to participate in what he alleges was an accounting scam.

Michael Ciavarra, an 18-year veteran of the Houston-based company, alleged in the complaint that he was let go from the company after he “would not go along with a BMC scheme to improperly recognize as revenue a $67 million invoice that the customer had no intention of paying.”

Standard accounting principles dictate that a sale cannot be booked as revenue if there are valid doubts about whether it will be paid.

The suit said that Ciavarra alerted several senior BMC executives, including CEO Bob Beauchamp, that he was concerned about the accounting treatment, but that no further action was taken.

The suit filed in Houston argues that Ciavarra’s protections under Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower statutes were violated, and asks for an unspecified amount of back pay and compensatory damages.

A BMC spokesman said, “We intend to vigorously defend ourselves against this factually inaccurate claim brought by a former employee.”

Ciavarra’s lawyer did not return a call.