Lockheed sued in alleged fraud, kickback plan

The United States is suing Bethesda, Marylandbased defense giant Lockheed Martin in connection with an alleged fraudulent kickback scheme related to a $232 million support contract for nuclear waste cleanup, the Justice Department announced Friday.

Federal attorneys accused Lockheed of paying more than $1 million to executives from Mission Support Alliance, a joint venture that it partially owned, in exchange for “improper favorable treatment” when MSA awarded the $232 million subcontract for management and technology services given to another Lockheed Martin subsidiary, bypassing open competition to give the company inflated rates. The defendants are accused of lying to the Department of Energy to cover up how much profit Lockheed would receive from that work, which took place from 2010 to 2016.

Lockheed Martin and Mission Support Alliance disputed the charges.