A Vermont-based defense contractor, Live Wire, LLC, has agreed to pay $628,328 to settle allegations of selling substandard items to the United States Army. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger.
The settlement addresses claims that between July 13, 2018, and November 21, 2019, Live Wire submitted false claims related to contracts with the U.S. Army. The company had contracted to provide electronic communications headsets but admitted in the settlement that these headsets were not tested according to military specifications before being sold. After realizing the testing oversight, Live Wire self-reported this information and cooperated with government investigations.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger acknowledged the efforts of special agents from the United States Department of Defense's Office of Inspector General and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service's Northeast Field Office under Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Hegarty. Additionally, special agents from the United States Army's Criminal Investigation Division's Northeast Field Office under Special Agent in Charge Joel Kirch were credited for their work on investigating these allegations against Live Wire.
The case is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark C. Orlowski from the Health Care Fraud Unit at Newark.