Contractors pay $273,100 over undelivered telescope

May 10—Two contractors agreed to pay $273,100 as a settlement over allegations of false claims related to the procurement of a telescope by the Air Force Research Laboratory.

The U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico and the Air Force announced Friday it had reached the settlement with Hart Scientific Consulting International and Composite Mirror Applications, which are both based in Arizona.

AFRL contracted with Hart Scientific for a $250,000 telescope as part of a research project through the Small Business Administration's Small Business Innovation Research program. Hart Scientific contracted with CMA in December 2015 to manufacture and deliver the telescope's mirrors, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

AFRL has two directorates that are based in Albuquerque on Kirtland Air Force Base.

CMA started what was supposed to be a five-month project in January 2016.

In April of 2017, CMA demanded an additional $13,200. AFRL paid the money but as the contract came to a close at the end of May 2017, the telescope was not ready and not delivered or leased to the Air Force, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Hart Scientific claimed in the contract's final report that the telescope was "leased to the Air Force."

The Justice Department accused the two contractors of violating the False Claims Act by submitting demands for the monthly installment payments, despite knowing that the telescope would not be delivered.

Hart Scientific and CMA agreed to pay a total of $273,100 to the U.S. government, with Hart Scientific and CMA jointly responsible for $259,900 and CMA responsible for $13,200, according to the DOJ.

Heart Scientific and CMA didn't respond to a request for comment on Friday.