Senators from both parties asked Tuesday whether a top U.S. military housing contractor that pleaded guilty last year to defrauding the government should keep its job, amid signs the company may be continuing to allow military families to reside in shoddy, even dangerous homes.
The company, Balfour Beatty Communities LLC, pleaded guilty in federal district court in Washington in December to defrauding the armed forces by falsifying housing repair records from 2013 to 2019 in order to receive higher performance awards. The company paid $65 million in fines and restitution.
According to the plea agreement between Balfour Beatty and the Justice Department, the company doctored data in a work order database so as to appear to be promptly and effectively handling repair requests at military homes while, in reality, problems such as mold and rodents had continued to fester. Top executives were not convicted, though two lower-ranking company officials were.
