Investigations

On October 25, Paul R. Brilles, Inc., doing business as PB Fasteners, Gardena, CA, paid the Government $2.5 million pursuant to a settlement agreement with the Government and two realtors under a whistleblower qui tam case involving allegedly nonconforming aircraft fasteners used on a variety of military and commercial aircraft (e.g., Boeing 737, 747s, 757s, 767s, and 777s). PB Fasteners allegedly submitted claims to the Government and other entities/customers for the sale of fasteners when PB Fasteners had failed to perform magnetic particle inspections required by contract specifications. According to the FAA, the rejected fasteners were not safety-critical items, and there is no evidence of these parts failing during use. As part of the settlement agreement, the criminal case was dismissed. This was a joint investigation with DCIS, the US Army-CID and NASA-OIG.