HUNTSVILLE – A federal judge last week sentenced a Huntsville defense contractor on criminal charges of falsely obtaining Small Business Innovation Research contracts with the Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, NASA Inspector General Paul Martin and Defense Criminal Investigative Service Special Agent in Charge John Khin.
U.S. District Court Judge Abdul K. Kallon ordered the contractor, Scientic Inc., to repay the full amount of the contracts with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and NASA, which totaled $250,000, and fined the company $30,000. Judge Kallon also placed Scientic on three years’ probation.
“Bringing those to justice who defraud the United States is among my office’s highest priorities,” Town said. “We are already aggressively expanding our investigative oversight into this illicit behavior.”
“The NASA Office of Inspector General will continue to aggressively investigate those who defraud NASA programs and waste taxpayers’ money,” Martin said. “The NASA OIG congratulates the investigative and prosecution team for their hard work and professionalism.”
“In concert with our partner agencies, DCIS aggressively investigates fraud and corruption that undermines the integrity of Department of Defense programs and contracts,” Khin said. “We must do all we can to preserve precious American taxpayer dollars while ensuring our national security.”
Scientic pled guilty in June to making a false statement in order to obtain research contracts with the DTRA and NASA. As part of its plea, Scientic agreed to the fine and restitution.
NASA OIG and DCIS investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney David Estes prosecuted.
