US Justice Department: Former Second Chance Body Armor President Settles False Claims Act Case Related to Defective Bullet Proof Vests; Russian Woman Accused of Being an Agent
Editor's Note and Update: We had signed up for Justice Department releases before the remarks of Deputy Director Rosenstein in relation to the 12 person indictment of Russians. This release was received today and again illustrated the persistence and resources brought to bear in their investigations. We thought you'd be interested in another investigation on the part of the department responsible for the Muller investigation.* We have just received another release accusing a Russian woman of conspiracy as an agent of the Russian Federation: Russian National Charged in Conspiracy to Act as an Agent of the Russian Federation Within the United States
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Richard C. Davis, the founder and former president and CEO of Michigan-based Second Chance Body Armor, Inc., agreed to resolve claims under the False Claims Act in connection with his role in the sale of defective Zylon bullet-proof vests purchased by the United States for federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies, the Justice Department announced today. Mr. Davis will relinquish his interest in $1.2 million in assets previously frozen by the United States and will pay an additional $125,000 to the United States. This settlement is based on Mr. Davis’ ability to pay.
Second Chance sold body armor to state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies reimbursed by the Department of Justice’s Bulletproof Vest Partnership (BVP) program and to federal agencies under contracts with the General Services Administration. The United States alleged that Second Chance’s vests were defective due to the loss of their ballistic capability when exposed to heat and humidity. The United States also alleged that by 2001, Davis was aware that Second Chance’s Zylon body armor was degrading at what he described as a “disappointing” rate.
The United States further alleged that, rather than using a $6 million payment from Toyobo Co. Ltd., the manufacturer of Zylon fiber, to fix the degradation problem, Second Chance pocketed the money and Davis and other Second Chance owners began meeting with various investment bankers in an effort to sell Second Chance. These efforts to sell the company allegedly stopped after a Forest Hills, Pennsylvania police officer was shot through his Second Chance Zylon vest in June 2003. Second Chance filed for bankruptcy in 2004 and was liquidated.
Subsequent tests by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) of Zylon-containing vests found that more than 50 percent of used vests could not stop bullets that they had been certified to stop. The performance of Second Chance Zylon vests were reported to be among the worst. The NIJ removed all Zylon-containing vests from its list of compliant products, and Zylon is no longer used in ballistic vests.
“The Department of Justice will pursue those who attempt to fraudulently profit at the expense of the United States, particularly when the stakes are life or death,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio. “Bullet proof vests protect the brave men and women of our nation’s law enforcement community, and those who manufacture and sell these products have a solemn duty to ensure their safety and efficacy.”
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