FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CIV MONDAY, JUNE 26, 1995 (202) 616-2765 TDD (202) 514-1888 LANDMINE MANUFACTURER WILL PAY U.S. $12 MILLION TO SETTLE ALLEGATIONS IT SUBMITTED FALSE CLAIMS TO THE GOVERNMENT WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Alliant TechSystems Inc. and its Accudyne operations at Janesville, Wisconsin, will pay the United States $12 million and forgo multimillion dollar administrative claims to settle a civil suit alleging Accudyne failed to properly test landmines under a military contract, the Department of Justice announced today. Alliant purchased Accudyne Corporation October 8, 1993. Frank W. Hunger, Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Division, said the settlement was reached on the eve of a trial scheduled to begin Monday morning in U.S. District Court in Madison, Wisconsin. According to the government's complaint, Accudyne submitted false claims under an Army contract to manufacture electronic control devices for remote-controlled landmines known as the Modular Pack Mine System. Accudyne's devices were the "brains" that allowed the mines to be detonated and otherwise controlled by remote control. The United States alleged that Accudyne failed to test the devices properly, used unapproved subcomponents, violated required quality standards and delivered defective units. "This settlement demonstrates the Administration's resolve to insure that contractors who produce critical military hardware comply with contract specifications or suffer the consequences," Hunger said. Hunger said the settlement resulted from close cooperation between the Civil Division and the U.S. Attorney's office in Madison. The suit was originally filed in Wisconsin as a qui tam action under the False Claims Act by a number of whistleblowers, including several former Accudyne employees. The False Claims Act permits a private party to file a suit on behalf of the government and share in the damages if the government takes over the suit and the prosecution is successful. ##### 95-360