Defense Cheater Settles for $4.75 Million

WASHINGTON (CN) - Kaman Precision Products, an Orlando-based defense contractor, will pay the United States $4.75 million to resolve a complaint that it submitted false claims for nonconforming fuzes sold to the U.S. Army for use in "bunkerbuster" bombs.

Federal prosecutors sued Kaman for breach of contract under the False Claims Act. They said Kaman knowingly substituted a component in four lots of fuzes that made them unsafe for military operations.

The FMU-143 fuzes are used in hard-target penetration warheads, known as bunkerbuster bombs.

Prosecutors said Kaman knowingly substituted nonconforming bellows motors for the specified motors in four lots of fuzes, which could cause the fuzes to fire prematurely, creating a hazard for personnel and causing misfires of the warheads. The military discovered the parts substitution and quarantined the defective fuzes.

Follow @davejourno

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Email *

Submit