Northrop Grumman/TRW — Government Contracting Fraud/Defective Products ($325 million).

One of our whistleblower attorneys led the representation of Robert Ferro, who was a scientist for a TRW Inc. subcontractor, in a qui tam action under the False Claims Act against Northrop Grumman (which has since acquired TRW). Mr. Ferro alleged TRW sold classified “spy” satellites to the government with defective components that caused the satellites to fail while on orbit. According to the complaint, when Mr. Ferro brought the defect to the attention of TRW engineers, he was threatened and directed not to reveal the information to anyone in the government. Northrop ultimately settled the case for $325 million, the largest ever whistleblower settlement by a defense contractor. Mr. Ferro received a whistleblower award of $48.7 million. See NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and LA Times for more.

Tagged in: Contract Non-Compliance, Defense Contract Fraud, FCA Federal, Whistleblower Rewards,