Austal USA Settles False Claims Act Allegations Over Navy Ship Valves

(RTTNews) - Austal USA LLC, based in Mobile, Alabama, has agreed to pay $811,259 to resolve allegations of violating the False Claims Act by knowingly supplying valves that did not meet military specifications.

The settlement, under a 2011 Navy contract, alleges that Austal invoiced for military-grade high-performance butterfly valves and triple offset butterfly valves installed on five Independence Class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) hulls, despite knowing that the valves had not met the required testing standards to be deemed military grade, the U.S. Department of Justice said.