Raytheon, Sundstrand settle false claims complaint for $500,000

Raytheon Technologies Corp. and subsidiary Hamilton Sundstrand have agreed to pay the government about $500,000 to settle allegations that the companies violated domestic preference laws by falsely certifying that manufactured materials it purchased in Romania were actually of U.S. origin.

Raytheon and Hamilton Sundstrand are defense contractors with sales to the Pentagon and other defense contractors. The certifications, which the government claim violate the false claims act, took place between 2006 and 2015, according to the justice department.

The companies are accused by the government of selling falsely certified materials from Romania directly to the government and, indirectly through a third party contractor. The materials in question are not identified in the settlement agreement and government officials were not immediately available to elaborate.

The government claims the sales violated the Buy American Act, a domestic preference law written to protect U.S. businesses and labor by generally restricting the acquisition and use of end products or construction materials that are not categorized as “domestic.”

A spokeswoman said Raytheon is “pleased to have reached an amicable settlement.”

The allegations were investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Raytheon, based in Waltham, Mass., posted third-quarter revenue of $15 billion.

Hamilton Sundstrand, a manufacturer of aviation and aerospace components, was part of United Technologies Corp. before UTC and Raytheon merged last year.