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U.S. indicts Canadian defense contractor

Published: April 21, 2008 at 4:30 PM
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WASHINGTON, April 21 (UPI) -- A federal grand jury in San Francisco has indicted a Canadian night-vision goggles maker and two executives on fraud charges, authorities said Monday.

Newcon Optik Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Michael Beker, also known as Mendel Beker, and Arie Prilik, a former company senior vice president, are both named in two counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of money laundering. The company itself was named in the wire fraud and conspiracy counts, Justice Department officials in Washington said.

Beker was arrested April 11 and Prilik April 18 in Toronto. The grand jury issued the indictment Dec. 4, 2007, but the charges weren't unsealed until Monday.

The Canadian company and executives are accused of scheming to overcharge the U.S. government by about $11 million for night-vision goggles the U.S. Army's Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command was purchasing for use in the Iraq war.

They allegedly agreed to pay a competitor to withdraw from supplying the equipment, with the idea that they would step in and charge an inflated price. They allegedly made an initial payment of $50,000 to the competitor, officials said.

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