Pentagon: British firm billed U.S. over $50M for iffy costs

WASHINGTON — A British company hired to train Afghan intelligence officers billed the U.S. government for high-end cars, including Porsches and an Aston Martin, and paid the “significant others” of the firm’s top executives six-figure salaries even though there’s no proof they did any work, according to details of a Pentagon audit made public Wednesday.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said New Century Consulting also spent $42,000 on automatic weapons, using cash to get around a prohibition in the contract on purchasing the firearms, and showered other personnel with hefty pay and bonuses they hadn’t earned. Overall, the military contractor “left taxpayers on the hook for over $50 million in questionable costs,” McCaskill said in a statement.

McCaskill, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, summarized the audit’s major findings in a letter to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. She demanded to know which Defense Department office was responsible for overseeing the contractor, what steps are being taken to recover the disputed payments, and whether New Century Consulting will face disciplinary action.

Michael Grunberg, chief executive officer of New Century Consulting, said the company is being portrayed unfairly and that it strives to follow federal acquisition rules. Grunberg said it “is most unfair and is significantly inaccurate” that the executive assistants received excessive salaries.

He said the audit “questioned solely the use and depreciation treatment of vehicles” and that New Century Consulting “accounted for no more than three vehicles across the entire business at any one time.”