Hydro Extrusion Portland, Inc. et al, Mail Fraud, Virginia 2023

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - In a brazen 19-year fraud scheme, Hydro Extrusion Portland, Inc., formerly known as Sapa Profiles Inc. (SPI), and its corporate parent, Hydro Extrusion USA, LLC, formerly known as Sapa Extrusions, Inc. (SEI), have agreed to pay $46 million to NASA, the Department of Defense, and others to resolve criminal charges and civil claims.

According to court documents, SPI has agreed to plead guilty to one count of mail fraud, and SEI has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement in connection with a criminal information filed here today charging the company with mail fraud. As part of the plea agreement, SPI has agreed to pay $34.1 million in combined restitution to NASA, the Department of Defense’s Missile Defense Agency (MDA), and commercial customers. SPI has also agreed to forfeit $1.8 million in ill-gotten gains.

For nearly two decades, SPI and its employees covered up substandard manufacturing processes by brazenly falsifying test results. They then provided the false test results to hundreds of customers across the country, all to increase corporate profits and obtain production-based bonuses.

“For nearly 20 years, Sapa Profiles and Sapa Extrusions falsified critical tests on the aluminum they sold—tests that their customers, including the U.S. government, depended on to ensure the reliability of the aluminum they purchased,” said Brian A. Benczkowski, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Corporate and personal greed perpetuated this fraud against the government and other private customers, and this resolution holds these companies to account for the harm caused by their scheme.”

As part of the plea agreement, SPI has agreed to pay $34.1 million in combined restitution to NASA, the Department of Defense’s Missile Defense Agency (MDA), and commercial customers. SPI has also agreed to forfeit $1.8 million in ill-gotten gains.

The plea agreement remains subject to acceptance by the court at a plea hearing currently scheduled for May 13 before U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady.

Defendant: Hydro Extrusion Portland, Inc. et al.

Criminal Charges: Mail fraud.

City and State: ALEXANDRIA, VA.

Exact Date: 2023.

Sentence or Outcome: $46 million penalty.

Dollar Amounts: $46 million, $34.1 million, $1.8 million, $34.6 million.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/company-agrees-46-million-penalty-falsifying-test-results