That would be knowingly selling defective supplies to the military. In this case, it was a company called Bristol Alloys, Inc., which sold non-heat treated steel to the Navy and falsified documentation that it had been heat treated.
According to the New London Day, the steel was used in hydraulic systems in submarines and surface ships. (That link might not work after today.)
A lot of people don't know that the False Claims Act, which allows whistleblowers to claim a share of the money that the government recovers from those who commit fraud against the government, dates back to the Civil War. The FCA was enacted because of rampant fraud perpetrated by those selling supplies to the Union Army. According to a 2003 list of top FCA settlements, Bristol Alloys would be a small-time player. Note that HCA (Health Corporation of America) had to cough up $1.3 billion.
Smarter than
1 day ago
Do they still punish crimes? For wealthy corpersons, that is?
ReplyDeleteSeems I recall reading that the Roman Empire solved similar problems with suppliers by seizing the perps' entire fortunes then executing them in exotic & unpleasant ways. It's an approach that has much to recommend it.
ReplyDeleteeumenidis, the Roman approach has much to admire.
ReplyDelete