Wyoming Business Council recruit pays $5.6M federal fraud settlement

Wyoming Business Council recruit Tungsten Heavy Powder — a California defense contractor with Laramie-based manufacturing — has agreed to pay the federal government $5.6 million to settle fraud allegations from the Department of Justice.

Federal prosecutors alleged the company violated the False Claims Act by having U.S.-funded parts for the Israeli military manufactured in China — a practice not allowed under federal law — while “falsely certifying that it sourced product materials in the United States,” according to a DOJ press release.

The business’s “illegal activities directly threatened the economic and national security and safety of U.S. military personnel by supplying misrepresented materials of unknown quality and integrity from un-vetted Chinese suppliers to be used in defense articles provided to the [Department of Defense],” the federal claim states.

Tungsten Heavy Powder, whose administrative office is in San Diego, has also produced parts for the U.S. military. It has had more than $7 million worth of U.S. government contracts since 2008, according to court documents.

Read more: https://www.wyofile.com/wyo-business-council-recruit-pays-5-6m-federal-fraud-settlement/