Prysmian Cables and Systems USA LLC (Prysmian), based in Abbeville, South Carolina, has agreed to pay $920,000 to settle allegations of violating the False Claims Act. The company is accused of knowingly falsifying test results and failing to conduct required testing on military cable, known as M13486 cable, used in vehicles manufactured for military use. The alleged misconduct occurred from approximately 2005 to 2021 at a facility in Paragould, Arkansas. Prysmian acquired this facility in 2018.
The settlement resolves allegations disclosed by Prysmian under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)’s mandatory disclosure rule. These allegations state that Prysmian and previous owners of the Paragould facility failed to conduct several required tests and instead submitted falsified test results and false certifications of compliance to the United States.
In early 2021, a Defense Logistics Agency employee identified discrepancies between the cable manufacturing and testing dates on data submitted by Prysmian, which led to an internal investigation at the company. Following this investigation, Prysmian terminated four employees involved in the alleged misconduct: its quality manager, quality systems coordinator, quality engineer, and product development supervisor. Additionally, Prysmian repurchased all suspect cables shipped to its distributor and made a mandatory disclosure under FAR. The company cooperated with the subsequent investigation by U.S. authorities.
“Companies who do business with the United States must comply with their contractual commitments,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will hold accountable government contractors who knowingly fail to perform required services or misrepresent their performance of such services, including mandatory testing requirements.”
“The manufacturing of defective products, including ones intended for use in military vehicles, creates a significant risk to America’s warfighters,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ryan Settle of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southwest Field Office. “DCIS remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners and the Justice Department to hold accountable those who commit fraudulent activity that impacts the Department of Defense.”
The case was investigated by DCIS and the Army Criminal Investigation Division.
Senior Trial Counsel Alicia J. Bentley of the Civil Division handled the matter.
The claims against Prysmian resolved by this settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.