November 08, 2010
The first False Claims Act suit alleging violations of the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR) has settled for $1 million.
The FCA whistleblower suit alleged that Rocky Mountain Instrument caused defense contractor customers to illegally export technical data used to manufacture parts employed in military equipment that the contractors then sold to the Pentagon.
RMI’s civil settlement follows a June 2010 guilty plea to criminal charges brought by the Department of Justice under the Arms Control Export Act. Specifically, those charges covered exports of prisms and technical data related to optics used in military applications.
The whistleblower in the suit was represented by Claire Sylvia, an attorney with Phillips & Cohen.