Defense Supplier Gets 10 Years for Fraud

The former owner of a Canoga Park defense-industry supplier was sentenced to nearly 10 years in federal prison for defrauding the U.S. government of $1.2 million and for possessing counterfeit currency, authorities said Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. on Monday also ordered Richard Ian Silver, 38, to serve five years probation after his release from prison. Silver was given eight years in prison in the fraud case and 21 months on the counterfeiting charge, to be served consecutively, Assistant U.S. Atty. Matthew Frank said.

Silver’s company, Aerotech Industries, fraudulently billed the government for $1.2 million in 1983 on more than 700 contracts for parts such as nuts, gaskets and O-rings, Frank said. Silver submitted bogus invoices for parts that were never delivered or failed to meet government standards.

After giving the government a fake relocation address for Aerotech in 1983, Silver took about $1 million in cash from the firm’s accounts and fled, Frank said.

Silver, who was going by the name Richard Taylor, was arrested in December in Scottsdale, Ariz., for possessing counterfeit money, Frank said. He pleaded guilty to the counterfeiting and defense-fraud charges April 1 in Los Angeles.