FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CIV THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 1995 (202) 616-2765 TDD (202) 514-1888 ILLINOIS FIRM PAYS U.S. $4.7 MILLION TO SETTLE DISPUTE OVER FAULTY MILITARY PARTS WASHINGTON, D.C. -- An Illinois electronics firm will pay the United States $4.7 million to settle allegations it falsely stated it could manufacture parts for military night vision equipment used in tanks when in fact it lacked the expertise and passed off another company's equipment as its own in getting approval to manufacture the equipment, the Department of Justice announced today. Assistant Attorney General Frank Hunger of the Civil Division and U.S. Attorney James B. Burns of Chicago said the equipment, when tested upon receipt at military depots, was discovered to be defective and was never installed. Today's agreement settles a potential lawsuit the Department could have filed under the False Claims Act against Richardson Electronics Ltd. of LaFox, Illinois. Richardson obtained a $3.19 million contract in 1987 from the Defense Electronics Systems Command in Dayton, Ohio, to produce night vision image converter tubes, which are used for night vision and targeting in tanks, the Department said. To prove it could manufacture acceptable tubes, Richardson falsified samples of tubes it submitted to DESC. In fact, a government investigation determined that Richardson substituted another company's tubes and passed them off as its own. Richardson falsely certified that it had produced the samples, the Department said. The Department said Richardson built and furnished 10,000 tubes to the government, all of which were non-conforming and defective. None were actually installed in tanks. The investigation was conducted by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service office in Chicago, Illinois. ##### 95-305