Jury Convicts GE on Fraud Charges

A federal jury in Philadelphia on Friday found General Electric Co. and two executives guilty of cheating the government out of more than $15 million on an Army contract.

The government charged GE with padding a $244-million Army contract for a fleet of mobile computer systems designed to process data for battlefield operations. The two executives failed to notify the government of savings they negotiated with subcontractors.

GE was convicted of four counts of fraud and acquitted on one. The company was convicted on 282 counts related to making false claims and acquitted of 30 such counts. GE spokesman George Jamison said the company would appeal.

GE faces a fine of about $50 million, plus court costs, Assistant U.S. Atty. David Howard told reporters after the verdict. If the company had been convicted on all charges, it would have faced up to $71.9 million in fines.