Reporting: Aerospace/Defense Fraud

If you are aware of someone violating the False Claims Act (FCA), you can report them with us:

The first step is always to protect yourself. Read our How to Protect Yourself guide.

 

About Aerospace/Defense Fraud

The Military Whistleblower Protection Act, Title 10 U.S.C. § 1034, as amended, prohibits any person from taking, withholding, or threatening any personnel action against a member of the Armed Forces as reprisal for making or preparing any protected communications. Learn more about the False Claims Act and Federal Funds Fraud by going here.

Some of the most common types of FCA claims include:

  • Substandard products or services:

    Contracts often specify a specific type, quality, or grade of the product being contracted. A common type of fraud occurs when a contractor provides goods or services that are substandard or inferior to standards proscribed in the contract.

  • Inflations of Costs/Overcharging:

    Under “cost-plus” contracts, the government pays the contractor a set price plus some percentage of the cost for producing a product. Another common form of fraud is for contractors to improperly inflate costs through falsely inflated employee time records, materials costs, or purchase orders.

  • Cross Charging:

    Cross charging is one of the most common types of procurement fraud and occurs when a contractor shifts costs or expenses from one contract to another to boost profits, such as shifting expenses from a “fixed price” contract to a “cost-plus” contract, in situations where a defense contractor has multiple contracts with the government.

  • Violations of Truth-In-Negotiations Act:

    In many situations, there is only one contractor capable of producing a certain product or system. In such situations, the government has no way to determine whether it is paying a fair price. The Truth in Negotiations Act requires contractors to honestly disclose all relevant information about their costs under a single source, no-bid contract, which would apply in these situations. If a company inflates its costs or fails to accurately disclose all cost information to the government, a claim may be brought under the FCA.