Simi Valley Businessman Sentenced for Selling Knock-Off Batteries to Navy

LOS ANGELES – A former Simi Valley-based businessman has been sentenced to 87 months in prison for defrauding the government by selling more than $2.7 million in knock-off batteries to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Didier De Nier, 64, was found guilty in April by a federal jury of five counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. In addition to the prison term, United States District Judge Dolly M. Gee ordered De Nier to pay more than $2.7 million in restitution, mostly to the DoD.

“Military personnel aboard Navy vessels relied on these bogus batteries to supply back-up power in an emergency, but the fraudulent nature of the nearly 80,000 batteries sold by De Nier meant warships risked becoming dead in the water,” said Acting United States Attorney Stephanie Yonekura. “This defendant risked the safety of American military personnel, which warrants the substantial prison sentence he has received.”

The charges stem from a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS). The Defense Logistics Agency and the Defense Contract Audit Agency also provided significant support to the investigation.

De Nier’s ex-wife, Lisa De Nier, who served for decades as Powerline’s vice president of sales, previously pleaded guilty in this case to conspiracy to defraud the government. She faces up to 10 years in prison when she is sentenced later this year.

De Nier profited handsomely from his crimes – using proceeds to buy a yacht, pay his home mortgage, and to cover the cost of travel to the Caribbean and French Riviera. The case represents the first prosecution under the 2011 Defense Authorization Act.

HSI Special Agent Claude Arnold stated: “America’s Warfighters deserve the very best to perform their jobs, and the taxpayers expect nothing less. Fraud committed by defense contractors not only takes away precious resources necessary for the protection of our brave sailors, solders, airman and marines, it also undermines the confidence of the American public who demand that tax dollars are used responsibly.”

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