Former CEO of Atlantic Diving Supply settles fraud allegations for $20 million
A Virginia businessman who helped transform his family’s dive shop into a multibillion-dollar supplier of tactical military gear — fueled in large part by contracts earmarked for small businesses — has agreed to settle civil allegations that he defrauded the government by obtaining contracts for small businesses that his company shouldn’t have received, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
Luke Hillier’s $20 million settlement is the latest legal action involving ADS Inc., a Richmond-based company formerly known as Atlantic Diving Supply. The company, which received about $2.5 billion in federal contract dollars last year and had almost 450 employees as of April, has argued that it should be classified as a small business. It has appealed an earlier Small Business Administration ruling that concluded that it was no longer a small business.
The charges were settled Tuesday without an admission of liability, meaning the company’s small-business status is unaffected. Representatives from ADS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Federal attorneys positioned the settlement as a tough enforcement action designed to protect the integrity of the procurement system.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/08/20/former-ceo-atlantic-diving-supply-settles-fraud-allegations-million/
DOJ press release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/former-ceo-virginia-based-defense-contractor-agrees-pay-20-million-settle-false-claims
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