United Tech Corp Liable for Record $473M for Defrauding Air Force

Connecticut-based United Technologies Corporation has been found liable by a federal court for over $473 million in damages and penalties arising from a contract with the U.S. Air Force for fighter aircraft engines for F-15 and F-16 aircraft between 1985 and 1990, the U.S. Department of Justice announced today.

United Technologies allegedly proposed prices for the engine contract that misrepresented how the company calculated those prices.  Specifically, the government alleged that United Technologies failed to include in its price proposal historical discounts that it received from suppliers, and instead knowingly used outdated information that excluded such discounts.  As a result, the government paid hundreds of millions more than it otherwise would have paid for the engines

The court awarded the government False Claims Act damages and penalties of $364 million, which is the highest recovery ever obtained by the government in a case tried under the Act.  The court also awarded an additional $109 million in damages on the government’s common law claims.  With the addition of prejudgment interest on the latter claims, which the court has yet to calculate, the government anticipates that the total judgment against United Technologies could be in excess of half a billion dollars.  No whistleblowers were involved in initiating this case.  Had there been whistleblowers involved, their share of the recovery would likely have been record-setting as well.

The Chanler Group, in association with the Hirst Law Group, represents whistleblowers who take action under the False Claims Act to report fraud committed against the federal and state governments.  We have years of experience representing whistleblower clients who expose every kind of fraud against the government, including health care fraud, contract fraud, and tax fraud.  Read more about our expertise in False Claims Act cases and how you can take action.