Pentagon Reports Billions of Dollars in Contractor Fraud

Politics Daily ^ | 02-03-2011 | David Wood

[bronxville]

Pentagon Reports Billions of Dollars in Contractor Fraud

The Pentagon paid hundreds of billions of dollars to defense contractors engaged in criminal or civil fraud -- in some cases paying the companies after they were convicted, according to a new Defense Department report.

At least 91 contractors holding contracts worth $270 billion were the subjects of civil fraud judgments -- and in some cases CRIMINAL FRAUD convictions as well, many of which resulted in fines, suspensions or debarments.

Even so, Defense Department contracting officers still assigned $4.9 billion worth of work with these companies after the fraud was uncovered, the report said.

The contractors identified in the report include such blue-chip entities as

Boeing,

Lockheed Martin,

General Dynamics,

Pratt & Whitney,

IBM and even the Yale medical school.

The Pentagon said its own sloppy bookkeeping, missing records and inadequate training of acquisition officials were to blame for the mess. The Pentagon also acknowledged that the data in the report, which covers only 2007 through 2009, are probably incomplete because the Defense Department cannot accurately track individual contractors or how much is actually spent. And the report only tracks those fraud cases of over $1 million.

At least $682 million was paid in error to 30 companies that had been convicted of criminal fraud, according to the report, including $29.6 million to HERLEY Industries, an electronics manufacturer, and $66 million to AEY Inc., a military surplus and sporting goods firm.

The number of fraudulent contractors identified in the report is relatively small -- some 120 companies out of the 235,000 contractors that work for the Defense Department. But the dollar amounts are significant, a continuing drain on taxpayers and on the military's combat readiness.

[bronxville]

Time to make BIG changes to ensure they follow the rule of law - a threat they use on the voting public - time they were make to follow the same laws. These people all mix with each other on different boards which is when they make their plans for us - using our money to make it global - democratic manipulatory standardization. Either hire decent small business folk for these money-making boards or change them all after one-two years. Some of these people have been on these boards, gathering big bucks, for years.

[bronxville]

Herley Industries, Inc. Appoints Two New Members to its Board

Mr. Liebau is the founder and President of Liebau Asset Management Company, an investment management firm in Pasadena, California. Before founding Liebau Asset in 2003, he was a partner and portfolio manager with PRIMECAP Management Company, where he worked beginning in 1986. Mr. Liebau’s prior work experiences were at the Capital Group, Los Angeles Times and The White House. He is a graduate of Phillips Academy, Andover and Stanford University. Mr. Liebau served as a corporate director of Media General, Inc. (a NYSE-listed media company) in 2008-09, and has been a director of several charitable organizations. He has broad business and financial experience from his various roles working for investment management firms.

Mr. Tatta is a retired partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers (”PwC”), with over thirty-five years of experience in the financial services industry. At PwC, Mr. Tatta managed businesses with U.S. and global responsibilities, including serving for three years as the partner-in-charge of Europe for the U.S. Tax Practice. Having served as the global engagement partner for tax services to some of PwC’s largest MNC clients, Mr. Tatta has a good grasp of global financial, fiscal, management, cultural and political issues. He is quite knowledgeable of issues relating to emerging economies, particularly India, where he serves as an Independent Director on the Board of Sai Advantium Pharma.

Mr. Tatta also serves on the boards of a few volunteer organizations, such as, Big Brothers Big Sisters. He also serves on the Global Council of Thunderbird School of Global Management, and on the Advisory Board at Wharton’s Executive Education. Mr. Tatta is a Certified Public Accountant (U.S.) and a Chartered Accountant (India), and also has an MBA degree. His undergraduate degree is in physics and mathematics.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/herley-industries-inc-appoints-two-new-members-to-its-board-112332879.html

Coincidence?

BOEING BOARD of DIRECTORS -

http://www.boeing.com/corp_gov/board_directors.html

LOCKHEED MARTIN BOARD of DIRECTORS -

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/investor/corporate_governance/boardofdirectors/index.html

Pratt & Whitney BOARD of DIRECTORS -

http://investing.businessweek.com/businessweek/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=159263

IBM BOARD OF DIRECTORS -

http://www.ibm.com/investor/governance/board-of-directors.wss

GENERAL DYNAMIC BOARD OF DIRECTORS -

GENERAL DYNAMIC (DM) BOARD includes General (Ret.) George A Joulwan who you’ll find in the following link and written as such in post #11 -

“Finally, given the Center’s apparent commitment to democracy, it’s ironic that one member of their advisory board, GENERAL (Ret.) GEORGE A. JOULWAN, currently serves as a board member of General Dynamics Corporation – that is, one of the largest ‘defence’ manufacturers in the world.”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2668948/posts

GENERAL DYNAMIC BOARD of DIRECTORS -
http://www.nndb.com/company/240/000059063/

[moovova]

No...who woulda thunk it?

[edcoil]

Add the billions in government fraud and guess what - it might get expensive.

What is a few billions between friends?

All goes in a politicians campaign fund.

[ez]

The jig is up...they are LOOTING the country.

[BobL]

Fraud in government programs!!!

Who knew???

But funny how this big stuff seems to hit the news JUST AS the president is trying to gut the military. Hmmm???

(and some people here lap it up, while Social Security is turning us into a third world country)

[RckyRaCoCo]

Where’s GE???..oh, never mind.

[oldbrowser]

I recently spoke to a contractor recently returned from over there and he told me that it is total chaos. He said they have schedules and time lines that are rarely met because materials and equipment is often late, misplaced or just lost. He said that a soldier that was a waiter at a restaurant now owns a beach house in the Bahamas and a young lieutenant has a condo in Costa Rica.
He said he declined to re-up because it is just mass confusion and he does not want to be caught up in it.

[cripplecreek]

When our local post office put in a concrete pad for parking (Big enough for about 3 cars) they couldn’t hire a local contractor. The government regulations dictated that a racially diverse company from 70 miles away spend 3 weeks doing an afternoon’s worth of work.

[bronxville]

Great info. Yes, I believe all news is vetted. I also believe that “chaos and confusion” is a strategy.

[bronxville]

A few of the “LOOTERS” -
http://www.brettonwoods.org/index.php/179/Leadership_Staff

[bronxville]

Honorary Co-Chairs President George H.W. Bush  President Jimmy Carter = Leading Looters etc

[bronxville]

Link - see more “democracy manipulators, sell-outs and looters...
http://www.brettonwoods.org/index.php/179/Leadership_Staff

[therut]

Ho hum more government fraud. Can we as tax payers sue and get a check in the mail or will .gov get the check. I am so tired of government I would almost be an anarchist!! And liberals wonder why people dislike .gov. LOLLLLLLLLL.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Unfortunately, a lot of these companies have virtual monopolies over essential goods and services. Either what they do is unique, or they are the only company with the scale needed to provide that much in quantity.

Halliburton is a good example. There are only two companies in the world that do much of what Halliburton does, and the other company is French. So if Halliburton screws up, they get punished, but we still have to do business with them.

Or how to explain to the taxpayers why we are using a foreign company, when our unemployment is so high.

[Salvavida]

Color me surprised.

And we have an Inspector General for what reason?

Some folks (military and civilian) need to find the inside of a federal prison cell.

[bronxville]

Understood but the people on the board who are supposed to be overseeing them should be fired. They get huge bucks for chatting to each other at board meetings - most likely about how to screw us globally. The CEO and his management staff should be put in jail if it’s their error - the only people who get a free pass on anything is the GOVERNMENT which is why they’re so fraudulent, sloppy and inefficient - see posts above.

[RobertClark]

At least 91 contractors holding contracts worth $270 billion were the subjects of civil fraud judgments -- and in some cases CRIMINAL FRAUD convictions as well, many of which resulted in fines, suspensions or debarments. Even so, Defense Department contracting officers still assigned $4.9 billion worth of work with these companies after the fraud was uncovered, the report said.

To steal from a government agency whether through burglary or fraud should be considered treason and punishable by death. The looting of the federal treasury and betrayal of the American Public is criminal on a level unparalleled.

[bronxville]

Very true but getting them to do it is another challenge - they’ve obviously dropped Reagan’s rules.

Taking a Scalpel to the Defense Budget

Published on February 3, 2011 by Mackenzie Eaglen

Tackling Waste, Fraud, and Abuse

“Eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse is a fundamental obligation of government. Taxpayers deserve prudent spending and critical oversight.”...

“One oversight tool is the Federal Acquisition Regulation, an initiative by President Ronald Reagan to make government contracting policies uniform. It involves virtually every acquisition by federal agencies and governs each step of the process.”...

“The DoD retains the authority to audit contractors’ costs incurred, profits, progress, and performance during the agreement period and up to three years after that period. The government can also take contractors to task through the contracting agency’s inspector general, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, the Army Audit Agency, the Defense Contract Audit Agency, or the Government Accountability Office.”...
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2011/02/Taking-a-Scalpel-to-the-Defense-Budget

[org.whodat]

That’s, ok, the we cannot cut defense funding crowd, forgives them. Now let’s move on to the next project that will not work.