Large Rewards Are Being Offered to Professionals That Properly Expose Defense Contractor Fraud: Defense Contractor Fraud Lawyer Provides Confidential Reviews of Defense Contractor Fraud Whistleblower Reward Lawsuits by Defense Contractor Fraud Whistleblower Lawyer Jason S. Coomer 

Large financial rewards are being offered by the United States Government to people that properly expose significant Defense Contractor Fraud.  If you are aware of a defense contractor or other large government contractor that is committing fraud, please feel free to contact Defense Contractor Fraud Whistleblower Lawyer, Jason Coomer, for a free and confidential review of your potential Defense Contractor Fraud Whistleblower Reward Lawsuit.  Please also free to use our online submission form or go to the following pages for more information: Defense Contractor Fraud False Certification Lawuits Federal Contractor Fraud Information; Defective Electronic Components, War Planes, and Missiles; and Common Types of Defense Contractor Fraud.

Employees and Subcontractors of Large US Defense Contractors Are Often in the Best Position to Identify and Expose Defense Contractor Fraud

The largest United States defense contractors obtain billions of dollars in government contracts.  Unfortunately, sometimes the management of a large government contractor will get greedy and will begin to commit fraud or illegally cut corners to increase profits.  In other situations, a defense contractor unintentionally violate a government contract and then the management will fraudulently attempt to cover up the contract violations allowing defective services or defective goods to be sold to the military.  When these situations occur, it is often necessary for an insider with the knowledge of the industry to step forward to expose fraud.  This is why the United States government is offering large financial rewards to persons with original knowledge of fraud who properly expose the fraud.

Large US Defense Contractors With Multibillion Dollar Contracts

Several United States defense contractors have multibillion contracts with the United States.  These defense contractors provide essential goods and services to the United States Military. 

1. Lockheed Martin - Arms sales: $35.7 billion. Lockheed Martin's main weapons system is the F-35 joint strike fighter, expected to become one of the world's largest military aircraft programs.
2. Boeing - Arms sales: $31.4 billion. The military arm of Boeing's business is most known for the Global Strike military aircraft program.  It supplies the U.S. military and other international forces with the likes of the AH-64D Apache combat helicopter, drones, missiles like the A160T Hummingbird, and the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighter.
3. Northrop Grumann - Arms sales: $28 billion. Northrop Grumann's areas of focus include drones and cyber security in support of its homeland security solutions.  They also develop CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives) detection systems in place around the U.S. to identify potential threats.
4. General Dynamics - Arms sales: $24 billion. General Dynamics produces military vehicles such as the legendary Abrams M1 Main Battle Tank, as well as ships, munitions, and military-grade communication systems.
5. Raytheon - Arms sales: $23 billion. Raytheon's sectors of expertise are missiles and electronics.  Their intelligence and information systems are used by the Missile Defence Agency, NASA, the Department of Defense and even the United Kingdom's Border Agency.
6. L-3 Communications - Arms sales: $13 billion.  L-3 Communications'  C3ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) solutions are used by all branches of the U.S. military.
7. United Technologies - Arms sales: $11.4 billion. United Technologies' military services business is most noted for the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, manufactured by subsidiary Sikorsky Aircraft.  The corporation also develops technology for aerospace and building industries.
8. SAIC - Arms sales: $8.2 billion.  SAIC's national security sector provides the Department of Defense, the FBI and other U.S. government civil agencies with engineering systems and anti-terrorism technologies.
9. Oshkosh - Arms sales: $7 billion. Oshkosh Truck's defense branch is responsible for delivering severe-duty tactical and armored vehicles.  Oshkosh LVSR (Logistics Vehicle System Replacement) cargo trucks, the Corps' heavy-payload platform of choice since it first debuted in Afghanistan in 2009.
10.Computer Sciences Corp - Arms sales: $6 billion. Computer Sciences Corp CSC provides technology-based solutions and is responsible for training and simulation services for the U.S. military.
11. Honeywell - Arms sales: $5.4 billion. Honeywell's military arm supplies engine parts for anything from the Abrams M1 Main Battle Tank (General Dynamics) and the CH-47 Chinook (Boeing) helicopter, to weapons systems designed by other defense companies.
12. General Electric -  Arms sales: $4.3 billion. General Electric makes electronic warfare its business. The company's defense program is focusing on military communications systems that meet the modern threat of hacking and network sabotage.
13. Pratt & Whitney - Arms sales: $4 billion. Pratt & Whitney produces military engines and is responsible for the F135 engine in Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II strike fighter plane, which is slated to be the Allied fighter of the 21st century.
14. ITT Exelis - Arms sales: $4 billion.  ITT Exelis' defense branch is called Exelis and is currently partnered with Boeing in a competition to develop the U.S. military's Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) array transmitter technology.
15. KBR - Arms sales: $3.3 billion. KBR contracts with the government to provide base operations support and maintenance services to military facilities and equipment.
16. URS- Arms sales: $3 billion. URS is a world leader in the disposal of weapons of mass destruction and also contracts with Raytheon in the Joint, Test, Tactics, and Training (JT3) program which supports the testing and training for weapons systems such as the F-35 Lightning.
17.  ATK - Arms sales: $2.9 billion. ATK is a defense company that sells ammunition to the U.S. military and its allies.
18. Rockwell Collins - Arms sales: $2.9 billion. Rockwell Collins sells navigation, communications, and aviation electronics to the government including helmet-mounted devices and a flight deck display on the C-130 tanker transport aircraft.
19. Textron - Arms sales: $2.7 billion. Textron owns a number of successful brands including Bell Helicopters, Cessna Aircraft Company, and Textron Systems, known for drones and armored vehicles.
20. Hewlett-Packard (HP) - Arms sales: $2.6 billion. Hewlett-Packard (HP) is the creator of the Navy Marine Corps Intranet which connects more than 700,000 military and civilian employee accounts, facilitating secure defense communications.
21.  ManTech - Arms sales: $2.5 billion. ManTech maintains military surveillance systems to detecting incoming attacks on bases.
22.   Navistar Defense - Arms sales: $2.4 billion. Navistar Defense provides military-strength trucks and engines including MaxxPro (Maximum Protection) product line with MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protection) vehicles used by the U.S. Marine Corps and the Army.
23. DynCorp Internation - Arms sales: $2.4 billion. DynCorp International provides logistical support to the U.S. government defense programs.
24. Goodrich - Arms sales: $2.2 billion. Goodrich provides parts for the F-35 Lightning II. They work on the fighter aircraft's landing system
25. CACI International - Arms sales: $2.3 billion.  CACI International supplies the U.S. Army with an information lifeline.

Common Types of Defense Contractor Fraud and False Certifications that Lead to False Claims Act Lawsuits

False certifications are a common way that government contractors defraud the United States Government and taxpayers out of large amounts of money. Many whistleblowers have been successful in blowing the whistle on fraudulent government contractors. These whistleblowers have exposed defense contractor fraud that put our troops in danger and building contractors that steal money from the United States. Under False Claims Act litigation billions of dollars are regained from these fraudulent government contractors and sub-contractors. Some common ways government contractors cheat the government are False Certification of Product Quality, Product Substitution, Cross Charging, False Certification of Services Provided, Charging for Services or Goods not provided, and Violations of the Truth-in-Negotiations Act ("TINA"), and Improper Cost Allocation.

False Certification of Product Quality commonly occurs after a product has been approved for mass production. The original prototypes of a product are typically created with high quality materials and parts including strong metals, seals, plastics, and components. However, after the original prototypes have been tested and approved, some defense contractors use inferior parts and materials to lower costs that make weapons, ships, vehicles, computers, electronics, and other military goods less reliable, weaker, and more prone to not work when needed. The defense contractor that provides a false certification of a product's quality has committed a false certification that may subject the defense contractor to a False Certification of Product Quality False Claims Act Law Suit.

The Defense of Department often requires its contractors to build weapons systems in accordance with very detailed product specifications because quality and reliability are critical with weapons systems and other military equipment. Failure to comply with these specifications and falsely certifying that these specifications were met can cause death and place our troops in danger. As such it is extremely important that appropriate quality assurance steps are taken in building or producing weapons systems and other military equipment and that a defense contractor's certification of compliance with these specifications can be trusted.

Similar to False Certification of Product Quality Qui Tam Claims are Product Substitution False Claims. These claims occur when a Defense Contractor that is under a government contract that specifies that the defense contractor build products using a certain grade, quality of parts, or materials & parts from American companies, fails to comply with the contract. These Defense Contractors often decide it is more profitable to use or substitute inferior parts or parts not made by American companies. Defense Contractors that use inferior parts or parts not made by American Companies as required by their government contract may be subject to a Product Substitution False Claim Act Law Suit.

Cross-Charging occurs when a Defense Contractor has a fixed-price contract, where the company receives a fixed price for a certain number of weapons no matter how much it costs to produce them and another that is a "cost-plus" contract, where the government pays the company for the cost of making the weapons, plus a percentage of its costs as a profit. In this circumstance the Defense Contractor has an economic incentive to charge the time it spends working on the fixed-price contract (where it gets paid the same no matter how much time it takes) to the cost-plus contract (where it gets paid for its costs plus profit). This may be accomplished by instructing employees to write down on their time cards that they worked on the cost-plus contract when they actually worked on the fixed-price contract. A Defense Contractor that charges fixed price work on a cost-plus contract is creating false claims or false certifications that may subject them to a Cross-Charging False Claims Act Law Suit.

Improper cost allocation false claims are a more subtle version of the cross-charging scheme. In this type of false claim, a defense contractor with government contracts and private commercial contracts fails to spread or allocate their costs fairly among the different jobs. These types of false claims are typically more difficult to detect as the defense contract usually tries to hide the misallocation in indirect costs or bury the misallocations in hard to interpret records. These improper allocation false claims are more common in large contracts where the product has military uses and private uses such as with large aircraft companies. Defense Contractors that deliberately allocate a disproportionate share of indirect or overhead costs to the government for the purpose on increasing there profits may cause themselves to be subject to Improper Allocation False Claims Law Suits, if the correct whistle blower reports the fraud.

When the government wants to purchase highly specialized weapons, military services, or other military equipment, it often is limited to one potential defense contractor because of the specialized need. This limited supply often creates monopoly power in the "sole-source supplier". This creates a problem in making sure that the sole-source supplier does not over charge the government for the good or services that it is supplying to the government. The Truth In Negotiation Act (TINA) requires the Defense Contractor to truthfully disclose all relevant information about its costs to the government in sole-source contract negotiations. Defense Contractors that submit false cost and pricing data to the Defense Department or failure of a sole-source Defense Contractor to provide accurate cost information to intentionally inflate costs to increase profits can cause liability for a violation of the Truth In Negotiation Act and result in a Truth In Negotiation Act Violation False Claims Act Law Suit.

Qui Tam Lawsuits and Defense Contractor Fraud Lawsuits

In 1986 as a result of increased government contractor fraud, Congress amended the False Claims Act in order to make it easier for whistleblowers to file claims against fraudulent corporations and individuals.  The act also help protect the Whistleblower or Relator from retaliation.

The 1986 Amendment defines a "claim" as:

"...any request or demand which is made to a contractor, grantee, or other recipient if the United States Government provides any portion of the money or property which is requested or demanded, or if the government will reimburse such contractor, grantee, or other recipient for any portion of the money or property which is requested or demanded."

The whistleblower's share of recovery is a maximum of 30 percent and the government's prior knowledge of fraud now does not necessarily bar a whistleblower from collecting lost revenue. If the government took over the lawsuit, the relator can "continue as a party to the action." The defendant is also required to pay for the relator's attorney fees. The whistleblower is also protected from retaliatory actions by his or her employer. As a result or the amendment, qui tam lawsuits increased dramatically.   Though the amendment was first made fore corrupt defense contractors, the amendment has uncovered billions of dollars in health care fraud.

Anyone who defrauds the government out of revenue can be held accountable under the False Claims Act. Common defendants include defense contractors, health care providers, other government contractors & subcontractors, state and local government agencies,  and private universities. Whistleblowers often include current and former employees of the defrauding company, competitors of government contractors and public interest groups.

The False Claims Act was enacted to encourage private citizens to assist the government in the fight against fraud. Often the whistleblower faces an uphill battle as large, powerful corporations or individuals are usually named as defendants. An experienced attorney in qui tam claims may help you gain a percentage of stolen government funds.

Quit Tam Claims, False Claims Act, and Defense Contractor Fraud Lawsuits

There are several types of Qui Tam claims covered under the False Claims Act:

  • Mischarging or overcharging for goods or services.

  • Improper price data and the request for payment for services never provided.

  • Holding government property for fraudulent purposes.

  • Avoiding payment of a debt to the government because of illegal reasons.

  • Knowingly providing the government with defective or dangerous products that were falsely certified.

  • Falsely certifying information for the entitlement of benefits.

  • Having any false claim paid by the government.

The mischarging case is the most common type of qui tam case filed. Mischarging cases generally involve filing false claims for goods or services that were not provided or delivered. A common mischarging scenario is employee labor charged to a government contract not worked on. Other common mischarging schemes are claims made to the Government for medical services not rendered or for services performed by an attending physician when the service was actually performed by a nurse or other provider that should have been billed at a lower rate.

Another type of case is the false negotiation or defective pricing case that involves the submission of false cost and pricing data to the Government. This scheme, which takes on many forms, involves the submission of false costs or pricing data to the Government during the negotiation of a contract that subsequently results in an inflated contract price.

Other common types of cases involve product and service substitution and false certification of entitlement for benefits. Examples of product and service substitution are falsely certifying that a product meets specifications, false testing schemes such as falsely certifying that reliability testing was conducted and providing an inferior service or product. Examples of false certification of entitlement cases are falsely certifying information for FHA mortgage guarantees and price supports.

Potential heroes that blow the whistle on government fraud and corruption include employees, former employees, high-level executives, sub contractors, general contractors, and people working with major defense contractors, telecommunications companies, and large health care organizations.

Qui Tam Lawsuit Lawyers and Defense Contractor Fraud Lawsuit Lawyers

If you are aware of a defense contractor, health care provider, financial institute, or other large contractor or subcontractor that is defrauding the United States Government out of millions or billions of dollars, contact Qui Tam Lawsuit Lawyer Jason Coomer.  As a Defense Contractor Lawsuit Lawyer, he works with other powerful Qui Tam Lawsuit Lawyers that handle large governmental contractor fraud cases.  He works with San Antonio Qui Tam Lawyers, Dallas Qui Tam Lawyers, Houston Qui Tam Lawyers, and other Texas Qui Tam Lawyers as well as with Qui Tam Lawyers throughout the nation to blow the whistle on fraud that hurts the United States and our armed forces. 

 

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