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The government awards contracts to companies with histories of misconduct such as contract fraud and environmental, ethics, and labor violations. In the absence of a centralized federal database listing instances of misconduct, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is providing such data. We believe that it will lead to improved contracting decisions and public access to information about how the government spends hundreds of billions of taxpayer money each year on goods and services. Report an instance of misconduct »

United Technologies Corporation

Submitting False Invoices on Jet Engine Contract

Date: 08/01/2008 (Date of Judgment)

Misconduct Type: Government Contract Fraud

Enforcement Agency: Defense – Air Force

Contracting Party: Defense - Air Force

Court Type: Civil

Amount: $473,044,647

Disposition: Judgment Against Defendant

Synopsis: The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio found that United Technologies subsidiary Pratt & Whitney had violated the False Claims Act by submitting inflated invoices for jet engines it supplied to the Air Force in the 1980s. Because the court found the government had not suffered any actual damages, the court entered judgment in favor of the government for the statutory maximum fine of $10,000 per invoice submitted, for a total of $7,090,000. In November 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court’s liability determination but remanded the case to allow the government to pursue its common law contract claims and for a recalculation of damages. On remand, the court ordered United Technologies to pay $473 million in damages, plus interest.