Raytheon Co., part of parent defense contractor RTX, will pay more than $950 million to settle Justice Department allegations that it defrauded the Department of Defense (DOD) and paid bribes to a government official in Qatar to do business in the country.

According to a statement from the Department of Justice, the company is accused of “a serious government fraud scheme involving defective pricing of certain government contracts and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the Arms Export Control Act.” (Department of Justice).

The Justice Department also found that the company had committed violations of “its implementing regulations” and the “International Traffic in Arms Regulations.”

Raytheon will sign three-year deferred prosecution agreements in separate cases filed Wednesday in federal courts in Massachusetts and New York. The company also agreed to hire independent compliance monitors to ensure it complies with anti-corruption and anti-fraud laws.

At the center of the allegations in the Massachusetts case are missile systems that Raytheon sold to the Department of Defense between 2011 and 2013 and the operation of a radar surveillance system in 2017. As part of these transactions, the company is accused of overstating costs by $111 million.

Raytheon allegedly lied to the Pentagon about the cost of building three Patriot missile batteries, in which the Army agreed to a $619 million contract.

Justice Department investigators unearthed a 2013 email in which Raytheon told the Pentagon that the company’s expected costs had risen after falling, which court documents show resulted in the government overpaying by about $100 million.

Prosecutors say that in 2017, Raytheon allegedly misled the Air Force about the costs associated with operating and maintaining a radar surveillance system in an effort to inflate the contract by $11 million.

In the New York case, Raytheon was accused of benefiting from business benefits from bribes paid to a senior Qatar Air Force official, Emiri, between 2012 and 2016.

“Over several years, Raytheon employees bribed a high-level Qatari military official to obtain lucrative defense contracts and concealed bribe payments by falsifying government documents in violation of laws, including laws designed to protect our national security.” – US Attorney Breon Peace, of the Eastern District of New York, said in a Justice Department statement.

Raytheon now owes money in criminal penalties, civil fines, restitution and restitution for profits obtained from inflating military contracts and business obtained after paying bribes.

“Such corrupt and fraudulent conduct, particularly by a publicly traded U.S. defense contractor, undermines public trust and harms the Department of Defense, compliant companies, and American taxpayers,” said Assistant Attorney General Kevin Driscoll of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. statement. “Today’s resolutions, with criminal and civil recoveries totaling nearly $1 billion, reflect the Criminal Division’s ability to handle the most significant and complex white-collar cases involving a wide range of issues.”

RTX said in a statement that it “takes responsibility for the misconduct that occurred” and is “committed to maintaining a world-class compliance program in compliance with global laws, regulations and internal policies, while maintaining integrity and serving our clients ethically,” it said. Associated Press.

Deputy Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division said the resolution of the cases “should serve as a stern warning to companies that violate the law by selling sensitive military technology abroad.”

Copyright 2024 Nextstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports and streaming videos, head to The Hill.