Defense Contracting Fraud - ITT
My favorite fraud is defense contractor fraud. This is the original fraud that old Abe Lincoln wanted to sniff out when he signed into law the first incarnation of our present law in 1863. Think about it, at that time the country was engaged in a great civil war. On both sides the governments were promising huge benefits to anyone who could supply the armies with guns, mortar, bullets and food. It only made sense that the wonderful patriotic citizens of the northeast would screw the government to make outrageous profits whenever possible.
Well not much has changed. On January 18, 2007 we found out that ITT Corp. the largest manufacturer of night-vision goggles, failed to supply the U.S Army in Bosnia with up to $200 million of security guards. (See: Blanc v. ITT, 07-cv-401, So. Dist of New York). In 2002 ITT was given the contract to supply the Bosnia multinational security forces with 245 security guards. Instead of actually giving the guards ITT decided to supply ghosts or rather imaginary people as guards at the station. This type of deception has been coined ``ghost-posting.'' ITT failed to post guards at the armory, the base defense operations center, and at least three of the five guard towers according to the whistleblower.
ITT wanted to create the ghosts instead of supplying actual guards for the obvious reason. Ghosts are cheaper. They don’t ask for a paycheck and they don’t need health insurance benefits. By posting ghosts ITT was able to raise the profit margin for supplying guards significantly.
ITT’s defense to this allegation is that the government’s prior reviews of their performance on the contract were favorable. That says to this writer that our government felt the ghosts were doing a good job. ITT says they intend to “defend this lawsuit vigorously.”
The whistle blower says he and other ITT employees actually reported what ITT was doing to the Army. The Army, with their superior military intelligence, confronted ITT with the complaints and so ITT took the natural course of action to correct this situation. ITT told the actual live guards that if they complained or talked to the army they would be fired.
ITT has reported that they are raising profit projections and will also raise dividends.
The government thought the ghosts were doing a good job? And
That's really discouraging news for my case knowing that's their mentality and they don't take fraud seriously.
That explains why the Pentagon, Senate, House, GAO, IG, OSI, FBI don't respond to what I'm going through in my litigation.
Let me guess... big rigging, bribes, threats, retaliation and extortion are only being committed by the ghosts and therefore, there's nothing to go after because they can't see the ghosts...but since they're doing a good job.. all the rest is a figment of our imaginations.
I love it. I'd love to sit in on the depositions of the ghosts. I can just see the lawyers putting their hands to their faces and saying "I see dead people".
Seriously, if these allegations are true and ITT wins, I quit.. because what's the point in standing against fraud anymmore?