National Aeronautics and Space Administration<br />Office of Inspector General<br />Washington, D.C. 20546<br /><br /><br />June 19, 2003<br /><br /><br />RELEASE 2003-039: NASA AND DOD CONTRACTORS AND SOME KEY CONTRACTOR <br />EMPLOYEES FOUND GUILTY OF CONSPIRACY AND MAKING FALSE STATEMENTS <br /><br /><br /> On May 7, 2003, following a criminal trial, a jury in the Central <br />District of California returned a guilty verdict against RAM <br />Enterprises, Inc. (RAM), president Richard Monstein, and RAM quality <br />assurance manager Timothy Gordon. A guilty verdict was also returned <br />against Precision Components, Inc. and its president David Erickson. <br />The companies and these employees were found guilty on a combined total <br />of 19 counts of Conspiracy, Fraud Involving an Interstate Carrier, and <br />False Statements to the U.S. Government. <br /><br /><br />RAM provided counterfeit electrical contacts to NASA and other <br />Government agencies by stamping contacts with another manufacturer's <br />logo and physically altering other electrical contacts to resemble U.S. <br />Government-approved contacts. The altered contacts were later sold to <br />NASA and other Government contractors. These counterfeit electrical <br />contacts were used in applications associated with NASA's International <br />Space Station and F-16 programs, various Department of Defense aircraft <br />and weapon systems, and industrial land and sea generators.<br /><br /><br />Monstein, Gordon, and Erickson are facing a maximum sentence of up to <br />10-years in prison and RAM and Precision Components could be placed on <br />probation for up to 5-years and ordered to pay fines as high as <br />$1 million. <br /><br /><br />Special Agents of the NASA Office of Inspector General, the Defense <br />Criminal Investigative Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, <br />the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, the U.S. Air Force Office <br />of Special Investigation, and the Department of Transportation Office <br />of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. <br />Attorney Lawrence S. Middleton, Central District of California, Los <br />Angeles, California, is handling the prosecution. <br /><br /><br />For more information on this release, please call Joe Kroener, Acting <br />Executive Officer, NASA Office of Inspector General, at 202-358-2558. <br /><br /><br />Previous Releases: <br /><br /><br />2003-017, "New Indictments in Counterfeit Parts Scheme"<br />http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/oig/hq/press/pr2003-017.html<br />2002-087, "NASA Contractor Indicted for Conspiracy and False <br />Statements"<br /><br /><br /> *** End ***<br /><br /><br />Please do not contact NASA Office of Public Affairs for information on<br />Office of Inspector General releases.<br /><br /><br />For additional information on the NASA Office of Inspector General,<br />including published reviews, audit reports, inspection/assessment reports,<br />press releases, and other publications, please access our web site at:<br />http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/oig/hq<br /><br /><br />Report Crime, Fraud, Waste, Abuse, and Mismanagement to the NASA OIG<br />Hotline at: 800-424-9183, TDD 800-535-8134.