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Washington, DC. August 11, 2015. Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted a petition filed by the defense contractor Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc. (“KBR”) and ordered that internal company documents containing evidence that the company defrauded the U.S. government during the War in Iraq can remain secret.

The controversy over the release of the documents commenced in 2014 when a U.S. District Court judge ordered KBR to produce documents the company created during an internal investigation into whistleblower allegations raised by Mr. Harry Barko, a former sub-contracts administrator for the company.   The District Court judge privately reviewed the contested documents and concluded that they contained evidence of fraud. In it’s ruling the Court held:

KBR’s documents are filled with evidence that certain KBR employees steered contracts to Daoud [a KBR subcontractor]; are filled with evidence that Daoud gave lousy and late contract performance; and are filled with evidence that KBR nevertheless overpaid Daoud with United States funds.” District Court Ruling, p. 16.
Continue Reading Appeals Court Rules That KBR Can Keep Evidence Of Contract Fraud Secret

The Supreme Court handed down a ruling today in Kellogg Brown & Root v. United States ex rel. Carter, holding that whistleblowers don’t get extra time to file civil false-claims lawsuits when the United States is at war. However, the Court was unanimous in finding that it was improper for the trial court to dismiss Carter’s one live claim under the first-to-file rule.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote the opinion for the Court stating, “Not only does petitioners’ argument push the term ‘pending’ far beyond the breaking point, but it would lead to strange results that Congress is unlikely to have wanted.”

Stephen M. Kohn, the executive director of the National Whistleblower Center and an author of the NWC’s amicus brief, made the following statement about the Court’s ruling:

Continue Reading FCA Whistleblowers Celebrate Partial Victory at Supreme Court

SEC Investigation into overly restrictive non-disclosure agreements was triggered by complaint filed by former KBR Contractor Harry Barko

Washington, D.C. , 2015.  April 1, 2015.  Today the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sanctioned defense contractor KBR for requiring its employees to sign restrictive non-disclosure agreements that prohibited employees from properly reporting fraud and misconduct to

Take Action!

The National Whistleblower Center issued the following Action Alert today:

Urge Attorney General Holder to Investigate KBR and Support Whistleblowers!

KBR, Largest Defense Contractor in Iraq About to Score Big Victory Against Whistleblowers

Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) is sitting on documents that contain proof of millions of dollars in government contract fraud. A trial court reviewed these documents and found them to be “eye openers” and ordered their release. KBR filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit seeking to hide the documents. Unfortunately, at that stage of the case the Department of Justice sat silent. The whistleblower was on his own to fight the intense legal arguments filed by KBR, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and numerous other corporate lobby group. In a major setback in the fight against corporate fraud, the Court of Appeals granted KBR’s motion, allowing it to hide direct evidence of contact fraud.

We need your help!

Continue Reading Action Alert Issued Urging Attorney General to Investigate KBR

Appeals Court Decision Permitting KBR to Keep Secret Documents Containing Evidence of Millions of Dollars in Fraud Against the U.S. Taxpayers Challenged

Washington, D.C. November 25, 2014. A whistleblower who formerly worked for the giant defense contractor, Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR) has filed a petition for a writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of a highly controversial ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit permitting corporations to hide documentation of fraud obtained in internal corporate compliance investigations.

The petition, filed yesterday, seeks to overturn an appeals court ruling permitting KBR to keep secret internal investigatory records that contain evidence of millions of dollars in defense contracting fraud committed during the War in Iraq.
Continue Reading Whistleblower Seeks Supreme Court Review in Controversial Iraqi War Defense Contracting Fraud Case

Washington, D.C. October 22, 2014. Yesterday, the National Whistleblower Center filed a “friend of court” brief in Kellogg Brown & Root Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Carter before the U.S. Supreme Court.  The extensive brief delivers a full rebuttal of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) and Kellogg Brown & Root’s (KBR) attack on the integrity of whistleblowers.

The Chamber and its corporate allies (in this case KBR) are attempting convince the Supreme Court to narrow the scope of whistleblowers eligible to file cases under the False Claims Act. Their position would block whistleblowers with key original information on government fraud from filing their cases by a hyper technical technicality.
Continue Reading NWC Fights Back Chamber of Commerce/KBR Attack on Whistleblowers at Supreme Court

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Whistleblower Seeks Release of Documents that
Demonstrated Contracting Fraud during the War in Iraq

Washington, D.C. July 28, 2014. Today, Mr. Harry Barko, a whistleblower who alleged that defense contractor KBR had engaged in widespread fraud during the War in Iraq, requested the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review a major court ruling that impacts the integrity of corporate compliance programs nation-wide.

In the case, In re: Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc., et al, a three-judge panel of the Court ruled that corporations could keep internal corporate compliance records secret under the attorney-client privilege, even though the documents demonstrated widespread defense contracting fraud.  The documents in question contained direct evidence of bid-rigging, conflicts of interest, and overcharging the U.S. Government by KBR during the Iraq War.  
Continue Reading Full Court Review Requested in KBR Contracting Fraud Case