The federal prosecutor for Eastern Washington state has filed a complaint in federal district court accusing the Department of Energy’s landlord contractor for the Hanford Site of fraudulently padding labor charges for fire safety by millions of dollars.
The case against Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS), a joint venture made up of Leidos, Centerra and Parsons, was announced in a Wednesday press release by Vanessa Waldref, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.
The case was spawned by allegations under the False Claims Act by a whistleblower named Bradley Keever who worked as a sprinkler fitter in the fire protection group at HMIS.
HMIS took over the Hanford Mission Essential Services Contract, basically acting as a city manager for the former plutonium production complex, from another Leidos-led contractor team in January 2021.
Part of the landlord contractor’s duties requires it to provide fire protection and fire systems management services for the site, according to the press release. But between January 2021 and October 2023, HMIS “engaged in a systemic and fraudulent overcharging” of DOE for fire protection work at Hanford, according to the press release.
There was “extensive and unreasonable idle time” most days, according to the release. This included taking naps, watching television and doing non-work-related activities. The U.S. attorney’s office said HMIS bosses know about the problem and did nothing to stop it. Despite not doing much on 10-hour shifts Monday-through-Thursday, the release asserts HMIS bosses still allotted plenty of overtime work on Fridays and weekends.
The complaint can be found here.
