November 24, 2015
Still reeling from a massive bribery scandal that cost the government tens of millions of dollars, the US Navy is facing a new lawsuit that once again calls their oversight of contractors into question.
The Justice Department announced last week that it will intervene in a False Claims Act suit against Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS), a British marine services contractor. The lawsuit alleges ISS systematically overcharged the US Navy for goods and services provided to Navy ships all over the world.The news comes on the heels of a sordid case against another Navy contractor, Glenn Defense Marine Asia. GDMA bribed US naval officers for classified and proprietary information, which enabled the company to overcharge the Navy by an estimated $20 million during Asian port visits.
Several Navy officers have been punished for accepting bribes from GDMA, ranking as high as Rear Admiral and as low as Petty Officer. One such officer was Navy Lieutenant Commander Todd Malaki, who admitted that he provided Leonard Glenn Francis, the former president of GDMA, with classified ship schedules and invoicing information in exchange for luxury hotel stays, cash and prostitutes.
According to the whistleblower lawsuit against Inchcape, the company invoiced the Navy for more goods and services than it provided, charged excessive rates for its work and double-billed for some items.
The suit was filed by three former senior employees of ISS.