Widespread Fraud Lawsuit Settled for Former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Whistleblowers

From 1946 to 1969, the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard was used as the station for top-secret nuclear tests in the Pacific Ocean. It was also the place where decontamination was done on the ships used in hydrogen bomb tests. Radioactive and toxic waste was disposed there.

In 1989 the shipyard was declared to be a Superfund site as a result of the high levels of toxic and radioactive waste from those operations.  The engineering firm, Tetra Tech EC, submitted false reporting to the U.S. Navy about the contamination.  https://www.tetratech.com/

In late August, a federal judge approved a $57 million settlement, plus interest, against Tetra Tech for breach of contract and for reporting false test results. Tetra Tech, a U.S. Navy contractor, was accused of widespread fraud in the cleanup of a 400-acre site where homes were razed to construct more than 10,000 homes in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood. https://missionlocal.org/bayview/

In 2018, two Tetra Tech supervisors were charged with falsification of records and each were sentenced to eight months in federal prison.

In March 2013, four Tetra Tech whistleblowers filed a lawsuit on behalf of the federal government. In 2016, three additional workers filed similar whistleblower lawsuits alleging they were told by Tetra Tech to replace potentially contaminated soil samples with “clean” soil. Under the federal False Claims Act, an individual can sue those defrauding the government. If the suit is successful, the individual can receive a reward.  https://www.whistleblowers.org/protect-the-false-claims-act/

In 2018, the federal government intervened in the case, took over the main prosecutorial duties and made claims under the Superfund laws.

In 2018, Assistant Attorney General Joseph Hunt said, “It was of critical importance to the United States Navy, and the public, that Tetra Tech perform accurately and fully the radiological testing and remediation at the Hunters Point site for which it was hired. The Department of Justice will vigorously pursue action against those who obtain federal funds based on promises they knowingly fail to keep.”

The Navy was forced to re-test much of the shipyards after allegations that large swaths of the site were still contaminated.  Despite additional cleanup, this spring more radioactive materials were found at the shipyard.

Acting Special Agent in Charge Brian Merkal of the NCIS Economic Crimes Field Office, said, “By falsifying work claims and manipulating critical data, Tetra Tech put its own financial interests ahead of its commitments to the Department of the Navy, potentially placing the health and safety of the American people at risk.”

Tetra Tech EC is a cleanup contractor at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).

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Tags: Acting Special Agent in Charge Brian Merkal, Assistant Attorney General Joseph Hunt, Department of Justice, Department of the Navy, False Claims Act, Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, NCIS Economic Crimes Field Office, Superfund site, Tetra Tech EC, U.S. Navy contractor, whistleblowers