NASA Contractor Agrees to Pay Government $1.2 Million

OIG News Release, 2002-014

On October 5, 2001, RGA Labs, Inc. of Torrence, California agreed
to pay the United States government $1.2 million for violations of
the False Claims Act. RGA admitted that they had intentionally
falsified test results during the period from 1990 to 1998. For this
crime, RGA had already been placed on probation for a period of 5 years
and ordered to pay a criminal fine of $500,000, criminal restitution
of $1.2 million, and a special assessment of $300.

RGA specialized in testing electronic components, such as
semiconductors and integrated circuits, to strict environmental,
mechanical, and electronic operational requirements. The testing was
required to ensure that the components met Government quality
requirements for high reliability applications, such as space hardware
and military weapons systems. From 1990 to 1998, RGA claimed that
they performed thousands of tests that were not fully performed or
were never performed.

RGA components that did not receive testing were used in the
International Space Station, the U.S. Navy’s TACAN (Tactical Control
and Navigation) System, the U.S. Air Force’s Titan Launch Vehicle,
the B-1 Bomber, and the C-130 aircraft. These programs were alerted
to the potential safety hazard early in the investigation.

Special Agents of the NASA Office of the Inspector General, Office
of Criminal Investigations and the Defense Criminal Investigative
Service conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney
Frank Kortum, Civil Division, Central District of California, handled
the civil settlement.

Previous Releases:
99-026, 04/14/00 – Contractor charged
99-041, 08/23/99 – Contractor fined

For more information on this release, please call Samuel Maxey,
Assistant Inspector General for Investigations at (202) 358-2580.