Hughes Sued Over B-2 Billing

A former Hughes Aircraft employee said Thursday that she filed a federal False Claims Act suit against the firm alleging that Hughes improperly shifted charges on its B-2 bomber radar program.

The case, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Feb. 28, is under court seal and was not previously disclosed. A Hughes spokesman said he could not comment until the firm had seen the complaint.

Linda Lujan, an engineering change analyst at Hughes from 1980 to 1989, said she had raised concerns about improper billing several times and that an internal company audit confirmed some of her allegations.

Hughes allegedly inflated its profits by billing costs on jet fighter radar programs to the B-2 contract and shifting costs between different phases of the program, said Lujan’s attorney, David G. Geffen.

Lujan, 44, said she left Hughes on a stress disability claim in March, 1989, but was dismissed by the firm several months later. Under the False Claims Act, individuals can sue a contractor on behalf of the government and share in any recovery.