WATCH THIS SPACE: DOJ and DOE Call Out Lockheed Martin for Self-Dealing at Hanford Plutonium Site

The nation’s largest toxic cleanup site has suffered another setback, this time not in the cleanup itself but in alleged self-dealing, corruption, kickbacks, and lies, costing taxpayers over $60M, according to a complaint filed by DOJ against Mission Support Alliance, Lockheed Martin Services (and a subsidiary), and Jorge Francisco Armijo. The Hanford Nuclear Site in central Washington state made plutonium for decades resulting in over 150 underground tanks of radioactive...

2015 Whistleblower of the Year Candidate -- Hanford Whistleblower Dr. Walter Tamosaitis

By Marlene Koury This "Whistleblower Spotlight" features Hanford whistleblower Dr. Walter Tamosaitis, one of our candidates for 2015 Whistleblower of the Year.  Dr. Tamosaitis blew the whistle on shaky clean up plans at Hanford nuclear site in Washington.  He was designing a way to immobilize millions of gallons of toxic and radioactive liquid waste when he discovered the Energy Department’s plans to treat the waste were extremely unsafe.  He discovered...

Whistleblower Spotlight -- Hanford Whistleblower Dr. Walter Tamosaitis

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team This week's Whistleblower Spotlight features Hanford whistleblower Dr. Walter Tamosaitis, who blew the whistle on shaky clean up plans at Hanford nuclear site in Washington.  Dr. Tamosaitis was designing a way to immobilize millions of gallons of toxic and radioactive liquid waste when he discovered the Energy Department’s plans to treat the waste were extremely unsafe.  He discovered that plans to mix the toxic...

Whistleblower Spotlight -- Hanford Whistleblower Shelly Doss

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team This week's "Whistleblower Spotlight" shines on Shelly Doss, a former environmental compliance specialist with Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), an environmental cleanup contractor for the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.  Located in central Washington, Hanford made plutonium for nuclear weapons for decades and now is the country's largest environmental cleanup site with more than 150 underground tanks containing highly radioactive sludge.  In October 2011, WRPS fired Ms....

Whistleblowers are Essential to Protect Infrastructure Funds

America’s roads, bridges, power grids, and airports are a mess.  Recently a group of civil and structural engineers graded the nation’s infrastructure a below-average C-. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill currently before Congress aims to solve some of those issues, with what the White House described as “a once-in-a-generation investment in our infrastructure.” The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill promises $550 billion of new federal spending over eight years and $450 billion to...

June 3, 2021

A Department of Energy (DOE) prime contractor responsible for cleaning up a decommissioned nuclear production complex in Washington State has agreed to pay over $3 million to resolve alleged False Claims Act violations involving false and fraudulent small business subcontract reports.  Whistleblower Salina Savage and her company, Savage Logistics LLC, had alleged that CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company (CHPRC) knowingly misrepresented two of its subcontractors, Indian Eyes, LLC and Phoenix-ABC...

Top Ten Non-Healthcare False Claims Act Recoveries of 2020

This year’s Top Ten Non-Healthcare False Claims Act Recoveries demonstrates the False Claims Act’s power to combat an array of corporate misconduct spanning diverse industries. In 2020, the United States recovered hundreds of millions in taxpayer funds obtained through claims rendered false by bribery and bid-rigging schemes, mortgage underwriting fraud, avoided import duties, fraudulent loan applications, and other garden-variety contracting fraud schemes like overbilling on government contracts or selling the...

September 22, 2020

Contractors Bechtel National Inc., Bechtel Corporation, AECOM Energy & Construction, Inc., and Waste Treatment Completion Company, LLC will pay $57.75 million to resolve claims that they violated the False Claims Act by overbilling the Department of Energy for work on the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant.  The investigation was initiated by four whistleblowers who reported overcharging by defendants on craft labor performed by electricians, millwrights, pipefitters, and other skilled trades workers,...

February 8, 2019

In connection with alleged fraud on a multi-billion dollar Department of Energy contract, the United States has filed a False Claims Act complaint against Mission Support Alliance LLC (MSA), Lockheed Martin Services Inc. (LMSI), Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMC) and Jorge Francisco Armijo, currently VP of LMC but formerly president of MSA. The complaint alleges that defendant LMSI violated the FCA by submitting false statements about its profits to order to...

Top Ten Environmental Fraud Settlements for 2018

Our environment, natural resources, energy resources, and wildlife are subject to numerous laws and government programs that can give rise to fraudulent activity. Here is our look-back at the top 10 environmental fraud recoveries for 2018. Our 2016 and 2017 lists are also available on the Whistleblower Insider blog. International Automated Systems and RaPower-3 – In October 2018, a federal court in Utah ordered RaPower-3 LLC and International Automated Systems, Inc. to...