Contractor agrees to pay $4.2M to settle suit over wages

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Federal prosecutors say a defense contractor has agreed to pay $4.2 million to settle allegations that it had submitted false claims related to employee wages for work at a U.S. Air Force base in Oklahoma.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oklahoma City says that PAE Applied Technologies had been accused of submitting false claims to the Air Force for employee wages under an aircraft maintenance and airfield management contract at Van Air Force Base in Enid.
Federal prosecutors say the contractor submitted false claims for wage rates above the applicable wage caps from 2009 to 2014.
As part of the settlement, announced on Friday, Virginia-based PAE did not admit liability.
The settlement resolves allegations filed in a lawsuit in Oklahoma City by a whistleblower who had worked for the defense contractor.