Lockheed Martin pays $2M to settle whistleblower lawsuit
Lockheed Martin Inc. has agreed to pay $2 million as part of a whistleblower lawsuit that accused several companies and individuals of rigging a contract at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, the U.S. Justice Department said Monday.
The 2009 lawsuit, filed in federal court in Mississippi, claimed three current or former federal employees conspired to steer a computer contract to a team of companies that included Lockheed, which is based in Bethesda, Md., San Diego-based Science Applications International Corp., and Applied Enterprise Solutions, based in Slidell, La.
Stephen Adamec and Robert Knesel, a former director and a deputy director of the Naval Oceanographic Major Shared Resource Center at Stennis, provided secret information about the bidding process, the Justice Department said in a news release.
Applied Enterprise Solutions was run by Haskin Dale Galloway, a former federal employee, who the Justice Department said conspired with the others to steer the contract to Science Applications International.
The Justice Department said Science Applications International got a $115 million contract and Lockheed's portion was $2 million through a subcontract.
The whistleblower, government employee David Magee, will receive $560,000 for his role in bringing the case to the attention of authorities, the Justice Department added.
Messages left Monday for several Lockheed attorneys and a company spokesman were not immediately returned.
"Companies that do business with the federal government and get paid by the taxpayers must act fairly and comply with the law," Tony West, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Civil Division, said.
"Whistleblowers have helped us to enforce the law by bringing to light schemes that misuse taxpayer dollars and abuse the public trust by undermining the integrity of the procurement process."
Jan. 24, 2011
FW 2/26/11