Aluminum Extrusion Manufacturer Agrees to Pay Over $46 Million for Defrauding Customers, Including

[TexasTowelie]

Aluminum Extrusion Manufacturer Agrees to Pay Over $46 Million for Defrauding Customers, Including the United States, in Connection with Test Result Falsification Scheme


An Oregon aluminum extrusion manufacturer has agreed to pay $46 million to NASA, the Department of Defense, and others to resolve criminal charges and civil claims relating to a 19-year fraud scheme that included falsifying thousands of certifications for aluminum extrusions provided to hundreds of customers.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger for the Eastern District of Virginia, Inspector General Paul K. Martin of the NASA Office of Inspector General, Special Agent in Charge Loren ‘Renn’ Cannon of the FBI’s Portland Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Bryan Denny of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) Western Field Office made the announcement.

According to court documents, Hydro Extrusion Portland, Inc., formerly known as Sapa Profiles Inc. (SPI), and its corporate parent, Hydro Extrusion USA, LLC, formerly known as Sapa Extrusions Inc. (SEI), admitted to providing customers, including U.S. government contractors, with falsified certifications after altering the results of tensile tests designed to ensure the consistency and reliability of aluminum extruded at the companies’ Oregon-based facilities. Tensile testing involves slowly stretching and then ripping apart a sample of the metal using a machine, which then measures the force applied to the sample at each stage of the test.

“For nearly 20 years, Sapa Profiles and Sapa Extrusions falsified critical tests on the aluminum they sold — tests that their customers, including the U.S. government, depended on to ensure the reliability of the aluminum they purchased,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division. “Corporate and personal greed perpetuated this fraud against the government and other private customers, and this resolution holds these companies accountable for the harm caused by their scheme.”

Read more: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/aluminum-extrusion-manufacturer-agrees-pay-over-46-million-defrauding-customers-including

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Like Boeing testing its own 737-MAX. . . . nt