DOJ Announces $13 Million Settlement with Defense and Aerospace Contractors, Alleging Failures to Meet Cybersecurity Requirements
On November 3, 2026, DOJ announced a settlement with defense and aerospace contractors ILC Dover LP and ILC Astrospace LLC (together, “ILC”) to pay $13 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by failing to satisfy cybersecurity requirements in their contracts with the Department of the Army, the Missile Defense Agency, and NASA. This settlement involves yet another enforcement effort through the recently created Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, previously reported on here and here. Like DOJ’s June 2026 settlement with LOGZONE Inc., which we covered here, this resolution underscores cybersecurity compliance as a key focus of FCA enforcement.
DOJ and EEOC Announce $29.5 Million Two-Part Settlement with Lockheed Martin, the Fourth FCA Resolution Targeting Alleged Employment Discrimination
On November 3, 2026, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) announced a two-part settlement with Lockheed Martin Corporation (“Lockheed”) totaling approximately $29.5 million. Lockheed will pay $22 million, plus interest, to the United States to resolve False Claims Act (“FCA”) allegations tied to its federal contract certifications. The FCA settlement also resolves a qui tam action filed in July 2025 in the Northern District of Texas by Tim Booher, a former Lockheed vice president. DOJ intervened in part on October 28, 2026, and Mr. Booher will receive $4.4 million. This is DOJ’s fourth FCA settlement resolving alleged employment discrimination (we covered the prior three here, here, and here). Lockheed will also pay approximately $7.5 million to more than 1,000 employees under a separate settlement agreement with the EEOC.
June DOJ/SBA FCA Settlement Highlights Continued Focus on Contractor Compliance
On June 9, 2026, DOJ announced a settlement with Broadway Electric Inc. (“Broadway”); its subsidiary, Cornerstone Contracting Inc. (“Cornerstone”); and two of their individual executives, for $21.3 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations. The settlement targeted alleged fraud against the Small Business Administration’s (“SBA”) set-aside contract program for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (“SDVOSBs”). The settlement suggests that the government is surging resources to both anti-fraud issues generally, and to alleged SBA fraud in particular. (more…)
Fifth Circuit Panel Produces Three Opinions Wrestling with Application of First to File Bar
On March 9, 2026, a divided panel of the Fifth Circuit revived a long-running qui tam suit against Lockheed Martin and reversed a district court’s dismissal of the relator’s complaint on first-to-file grounds. United States of America ex rel. Ferguson v. Lockheed Martin Corp., No. 24-10713 (5th Cir. 2026) (“Ferguson”). Under the False Claims Act’s first-to-file bar “no person other than the Government may intervene or bring a related action based on the facts underlying” a pending, first-filed action. 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(5).