Swordsmyth
10-05-2019, 09:29 PM
America's largest military shipbuilding company has been accused of falsifying tests and certifications on stealth coatings of its submarines "that put American lives at risk," according to a complaint filed in federal court last month.
Huntington Ingalls Industries, which spun-off from Northrop Grumman in 2011 (http://investor.northropgrumman.com/news-releases/news-release-details/northrop-grumman-board-approves-spin-huntington-ingalls), "knowingly and/or recklessly" filed falsified records with the Navy claiming it had correctly applied a coating, called a Special Hull Treatment, to Virginia-class attack submarines which would allow the vessels to elude enemy sonar, the Sept. 26 complaint alleges.
Instead, the complaint said, Huntington Ingalls' Newport News Shipbuilding facility in Virginia took shortcuts that allegedly "plagued" the class of submarines with problems, and then retaliated against the employee who spoke up about the issues.
Huntington Ingalls, and Northrop Grumman, are being sued for damages in excess of $100 million for allegedly misleading the federal government on a defense contract to apply the sound-dampening coating to the submarines. The Navy's Virginia-class attack submarines are manufactured as part of a joint effort by General Dynamics' Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls.
The complaint alleges that Northrop Grumman and Huntington Ingalls Industries violated the federal government's False Claims Act when they "falsified testing and certifications on multi-billion dollar submarine contracts."
The complaint goes on to note that the companies "induced the government to pay the defendants in-full for submarines with dangerous defects that put American lives at risk."
The qui tam lawsuit – a type of suit which is brought under the False Claims Act and rewards whistleblowers in successful cases where the government recoups damages due to fraud – is being brought by Ari Lawrence on behalf of the U.S. Government. According to the complaint, Lawrence, a senior engineer at Huntington Ingalls who has worked there since 2001, has provided evidence of the alleged issues at the company's Newport News Shipbuilding facility in Virginia.
More at: https://taskandpurpose.com/lawsuit-huntington-ingalls-whistleblower
Huntington Ingalls Industries, which spun-off from Northrop Grumman in 2011 (http://investor.northropgrumman.com/news-releases/news-release-details/northrop-grumman-board-approves-spin-huntington-ingalls), "knowingly and/or recklessly" filed falsified records with the Navy claiming it had correctly applied a coating, called a Special Hull Treatment, to Virginia-class attack submarines which would allow the vessels to elude enemy sonar, the Sept. 26 complaint alleges.
Instead, the complaint said, Huntington Ingalls' Newport News Shipbuilding facility in Virginia took shortcuts that allegedly "plagued" the class of submarines with problems, and then retaliated against the employee who spoke up about the issues.
Huntington Ingalls, and Northrop Grumman, are being sued for damages in excess of $100 million for allegedly misleading the federal government on a defense contract to apply the sound-dampening coating to the submarines. The Navy's Virginia-class attack submarines are manufactured as part of a joint effort by General Dynamics' Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls.
The complaint alleges that Northrop Grumman and Huntington Ingalls Industries violated the federal government's False Claims Act when they "falsified testing and certifications on multi-billion dollar submarine contracts."
The complaint goes on to note that the companies "induced the government to pay the defendants in-full for submarines with dangerous defects that put American lives at risk."
The qui tam lawsuit – a type of suit which is brought under the False Claims Act and rewards whistleblowers in successful cases where the government recoups damages due to fraud – is being brought by Ari Lawrence on behalf of the U.S. Government. According to the complaint, Lawrence, a senior engineer at Huntington Ingalls who has worked there since 2001, has provided evidence of the alleged issues at the company's Newport News Shipbuilding facility in Virginia.
More at: https://taskandpurpose.com/lawsuit-huntington-ingalls-whistleblower