NEWBURY PARK : Teledyne Agrees to Settle Civil Claims

In a third defense fraud case against its Newbury Park facility, Teledyne Industries has agreed to pay $850,000 to settle federal civil claims that it lied about the true cost of assembling electronic components for military aircraft, the Justice Department said.

The settlement announced last week resolves a whistle-blower’s allegations that Teledyne failed to tell Defense Department officials it was using equipment in stock that was cheaper than what it charged the government.

The company was also accused of not telling the government it would require fewer hours of labor to build the instruments than originally proposed.

Teledyne spokeswoman Rosanne O’Brien said the company denies the allegations but decided to settle because of the growing cost of litigation.

As in the two other defense fraud cases, the allegations of wrongdoing centered on Teledyne’s manufacture of “identification friend or foe” systems at its plant in Newbury Park.

The identification systems, produced by Teledyne and other defense contractors, are used on virtually all military aircraft to identify friendly aircraft and thus avoid casualties from friendly fire.

Unlike earlier cases that alleged falsifying tests of the instruments, this settlement focused on the prices charged to the government.

The case came up when a Teledyne official accused his company of failing to provide real pricing data for contracts with the Army, Navy and Air Force from 1987 to 1991, officials said.

The case was investigated by the Ventura County office of the FBI and an assortment of military investigators.