Attorney Justin M. Plaskov was the lead counsel and filed this case on behalf of his client and U.S. Government. In addition to recovering $235,000 from the U.S. Government as the person who brought the lawsuit on behalf of the United States, Mr. Cole received $250,000 to settle his employment retaliation claims, for a total recovery of $485,000.
An excerpt from an article by Siri Nelson on December 11th, 2019:
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced a settlement with weapons manufacturer Capco, on Tuesday, December 3, 2019. The government recovered $1,025,429 from Capco, LLC, a defense contractor in Grand Junction Colorado, through the settlement of allegations that it defrauded the U.S. Army when manufacturing M320 grenade launchers from 2016-2018. Whistleblower James Cole alerted the government to Capco’s alleged failure to comply with the arms contract, bringing a qui tam action against the company under the False Claims Act.
The DOJ alleged that Capco knowingly shipped grenade launchers with barrels that did not conform to contract specifications and labeled those shipments as compliant with contract specifications – dangerously misrepresenting the condition of arms sent to U.S. Army troops. The DOJ complaint also contained allegations that the firing pins on two shipments were incorrect, and Capco knowingly lied to the government claiming that these pins conformed with contract specifications – defrauding the Army and putting its troops at risk.
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