Buyer for Irvine Defense Firm Accused of Taking Kickbacks

A federal grand jury returned a 32-count indictment Thursday charging an Anaheim man with taking kickbacks on $4 million in purchases he handled for an Irvine defense contractor, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office said.

Donald Allan Brewer, 57, of Anaheim, a buyer for Parker Hannifin Corp.’s Aerospace Group, was charged with mail fraud and extortion. The indictment also alleges that Brewer filed false income tax returns that failed to list about $119,000 in kickbacks, said U.S. Atty. Robert C. Bonner in Los Angeles.

The indictment alleges that the offenses occurred between March 16, 1982, and Dec. 9, 1985.

According to Bonner, Brewer placed purchase orders with vendors who agreed to pay kickbacks as high as 10% of the contract amount.

“In order to conceal the payments and their nature, defendant Brewer often disguised them as loans or loan repayments,” the indictment said.

Brewer could not be reached for comment.

At times, Brewer allegedly had checks issued to cash or to his girlfriend, or to a personally held corporation, DCW Enterprises Inc., the indictment said.

Brewer directed about $4 million in purchasing orders to about five vendors while at Parker Hannifin. Most of the vendors were machine shops in Santa Ana with numerous contracts to provide parts for fighter planes.

These vendors provided critical parts used in defense contracts for the Air Force’s F-15 Eagle Fighter, the Navy’s F-18 Hornet fighter-bomber and the Navy Harrier aircraft.

The indictments were the result of an investigation by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, an investigative arm of the Department of Defense, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service.

The case was part of a joint investigative effort against defense contractor kickbacks during the last two years called Operation DEF CON, Bonner said.

If convicted, Brewer faces imprisonment of five years and a $1,000 fine on each of the 23 mail fraud counts; imprisonment of 20 years and a $10,000 fine on each of the five extortion counts; imprisonment of three years and a $100,000 fine on each of the four tax counts.