California aerospace parts manufacturing company has paid the United States government $2.7 million to resolve a whistleblower False Claims Act lawsuit.

According to the whistleblower False Claims Act lawsuit, Air Industries Corporation (AIC) falsely certified the inspection of certain aerospace components that were used by the U.S. Department of Defense for aircraft, spacecraft, and missiles.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California, an Air Industries Corporation employee acted as the whistleblower in this claim and reported the company for allegedly falsely certifying aerospace parts.

Between June 2010 and September 2013, the company allegedly lied about performing performance tests on the aerospace parts in question. These parts were reportedly sold to major aerospace contractors including Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin, which used these parts in aircraft and other equipment that was later sold to the government.

Air Industries Corporation had agreed to pay $2.7 million on Sept. 07, 2016, with U.S. District Judge James V. Selna dismissing the whistleblower False Claims Act lawsuit later that month.

“Every company that does business with the United States has a duty and responsibility to honor it contracts, especially in ensuring equipment produced is safe and suitable for use. [T]he Department of Justice is committed to protecting investments made by taxpayers in contracts with private entities, especially when it comes to the purchase of equipment used in our national defense,” one of the whistleblower attorneys stated.

Whistleblower False Claims Act Lawsuit

This whistleblower False Claims Act lawsuit was filed by AIC employee Mario Lira in late 2012, claiming the company had been falsely certifying approvals for non tested aerospace parts. Testing for the parts include magnetic particle inspections, which ensures the overall quality and endurance of the aerospace parts.

For his part as the whistleblower, Lira will be rewarded $621,000 of the recovered funds and is still currently seeking several employment-based damages against the aerospace company. While this whistleblower False Claims Act lawsuit was proceeding, Lira requested that the court to allow him to use a pseudonym.

The government reacted by saying a whistleblower should not be able to “prevent the public from learning to whom the government is paying over a half a million dollars from the proceeds of an FCA settlement.”

The government further added the “relator cannot make the showing necessary to outweigh the public’s interest in understanding the conduct of its government and expenditure of its resources.”

Judge Selna ultimately denied Lira’s pseudonym motion and ordered all relevant documents to be unsealed.

The Whistleblower False Claims Act Lawsuit is United States of America v. Air Industries Corporation, Case No. 8:12-cv-02188, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.