Feds: Ex-defense contractors lied to Air Force investigators

Brett O’Halloran and Joshua Deaville likely will receive diversion, their attorneys say

Two former defense contractors face federal charges of lying to Air Force investigators about a contract awarded to their company by the F-22 program at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

Brett O’Halloran and Joshua Deaville “knowingly and willfully made a materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statement” in January 2015, according to bills of information filed in Dayton’s U.S. District Court.

Both men, who worked for defense contractor Intelligent Decisions (ID), are expected to plead guilty to one count of false statements that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, according to court records. Dates for plea hearings have not yet been scheduled.

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O’Halloran’s attorney, Nicholas Gounaris, said these are diversion cases in which the defendants won’t be convicted of a crime if they do what is required in the pending plea agreements.

“We’re satisfied with the resolution that we’ve reached with the government,” said Andrew Pratt, Deaville’s attorney. “We think it’s fair and reasonable based on the circumstances surrounding the case.”

Assistant U.S. attorney Laura Clemmens said the men resigned from their jobs with the information technology company before the bills of information were filed.

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Court documents show that in January 2015, both men lied about why ID didn’t provide the required number of individuals as mandated by a 2012 contract awarded to the company by the F-22 Program Office at WPAFB.

Deaville stated ID provided three spots less than the 12 or 13 required because the “front office” had asked for them to be vacant due to impending concerns about sequestration, according to the bills.

Documents said O’Halloran and Deaville both knew their statements were false because “ID and certain persons working in the F-22 Program Office had reached a side deal under which they agreed that ID did not have to provide the required number of individuals.”

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Clemmens said she could not provide other information such as the men’s ages and cities of residence.

A message seeking comment that was left with Intelligent Decisions was not immediately returned.

A 2012 press release on ID’s website said it was awarded a $3.7 million task order for the F-22 program that was part of a larger $950 million contract with the Air Force.

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The prosecution of O’Halloran and Deaville is not ID’s first time being federally investigated.

In 2014, ID’s then-president Harry Martin agreed to pay a $300,000 criminal fine stemming from gratuities that he and his company provided to a former contracting official with the U.S. Dept. of the Army in return for preferential treatment and government contracts.

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