Voting Company: Fraud whistleblower "Disgruntled", Facts: "Not!"

[BradBlog]

Hart Intercivic Plays 'Disgruntled Employee' Card in Federal Whistleblower Fraud Suit; Docs Reveal Otherwise
Company Employee Performance Review, Included in Complaint Itself, Dispels Assertion Made by Company Spokesperson
Other Replies from Defendant Similarly Debunked by Documents Obtained by The BRAD BLOG...

In a statement given to the media last week, in response to a federal fraud/false claims act qui tam suit finally unsealed last week, a representative from the defendant voting machine company, Hart InterCivic, alleged the suits whistleblower, William Singer, was a "disgruntled employee."

Employee "Performance Evaluation" records written by company management, included in the complaint itself, however, would seem to strongly contradict the claims of company spokesperson, Pete Lichtenheld as given to a reporter last week.

Additional claims by Lichtenheld, as reported by Kim Zetter at Wired's Threat Level blog on Thursday, are also dispelled by a document from the U.S. Dept. of Justice, obtained by The BRAD BLOG. The DoJ, after requesting and receiving extensions for two years, has finally decided against joining the federal qui tam suit, for the time being, allowing it to become unsealed last week, so that it may now move forward in federal district court.

The lawsuit, posted in full by The BRAD BLOG after it became unsealed last Thursday, details an extraordinary list of fraudulent behavior by Hart InterCivic, as related by one-time employee Singer, who alleges the company deceived Election Officials in Texas, Ohio, Colorado and elsewhere in hopes of receiving federal monies as distributed via the Help America Vote Act of 2002.

Allegations made in the suit include stunning revelations that Hart failed to test its products properly, and frequently at all, withheld information from prospective clients about the potential loss of votes in their voting systems, dummied-up machines, reports and test results presented to clients in sales presentations, and much more in an attempt to win state and county contracts.

Much of the response to the suit by the company's spokesperson Lichtenheld, however, is easily dismissed upon examination of the evidence so far available in the case...

FULL STORY: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5852

Related, in case you missed it last week...
EXCLUSIVE: Federal Fraud Complaint Against Voting Machine Company Unsealed
After Two Years, the Qui Tam Suit Against Hart InterCivic, Brought by Whistleblower William Singer with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Mike Papantonio, May Proceed After DoJ Declines to Join Case
Download the Full Complaint here...
FULL COVERAGE, COMPLAINT: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5847

[BradBlog]

1. Kicking myself...

...cause this scrolled off WAY to quick without a single comment.

[SharonAnn]

2. Thanks. I caught it this time, missed it the first time. We use these.

I send the article to our Election Administrator.

She said that the only problems and lawsuits were with Diebold and ES&S.

[catrose]

3. Right.

HIC has held itself above the fray: only THOSE companies have problems, not us. The president regularly appears in the paper and weeps that people won't just trust him. I was on a progressive mailing list with an HIC employee who regularly assures us that HIC is different; their product works. My response: so how do we know?

I was an election clerk in 2004, and I thought it was clunky, even if the vote count were correct, which we had no reason to believe. Some votes were lost because you have to vote and then confirm your vote. If someone leaves the booth without confirming, the vote is thrown away; the election staff can't confirm it.

HIC is always advertising for employees. I've jumped on a lot of great-sounding jobs, only to turn away when I find out the employer. Besides the cheerleader I mentioned, all the other HIC employees I know of are desperate and would prefer to be elsewhere.

[BradBlog]

4. Hope you'll ask your election admin about this...

...Please ask her to read that complaint and THEN tell you the only prob is Diebold, ES&S (and let's no forget Sequoia!)

The points made about the behavior of the Hart InterCivic company and their machines and the failures thereof and the lack of testing, etc. etc. is simply remarkable in that complaint. It is linked to both of the stories linked above.

I found it breathtaking. Would love to hear how your Election Administrator explains it away...

[BradBlog]

6. BTW...What county/state are you in?... (n/t)

[Richard Steele]

5. K&R