U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger | U.S. Department of Justice
A Vermont-based defense contractor, Live Wire, LLC, has agreed to pay $628,328 to settle allegations of selling substandard equipment to the United States Army. This resolution addresses claims that between July 13, 2018, and November 21, 2019, the company submitted false claims related to contracts for electronic communications headsets.
According to the settlement details released by U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger in Newark, New Jersey, Live Wire admitted that it supplied headsets which had not been tested according to military specifications before being sold. The company later self-disclosed this issue to the government and cooperated with subsequent investigations.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger acknowledged the efforts of special agents from the United States Department of Defense's Office of Inspector General and Defense Criminal Investigative Service's Northeast Field Office. These agents were under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Hegarty. Additionally, special agents from the United States Army's Army Criminal Investigation Division's Northeast Field Office also contributed under Special Agent in Charge Joel Kirch.
The legal proceedings on behalf of the United States were managed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark C. Orlowski from the U.S. Attorney’s Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark.
