Politics & Government

Local Navy Contractor Charged in Federal Kickback Case

The U.S. Department of Justice has charged the founder of a company in Middletown and a civilian Navy employee in connection with the alleged $10 million scheme.

A Middletown defense contractor is facing federal criminal charges following an investigation into millions of dollars in kickbacks that allegedly involved the company's founder and president, a civilian Navy employee, and the employee's family and associates.

United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha held a press conference in Providence Tuesday morning announcing the charges, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Jim Martin, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice, told Patch that Advanced Solutions For Tomorrow (ASFT) is the Middletown company involved in the investigation.

According to the release, federal criminal charges have been filed against the founder and president of the company: Anjan Dutta-Gupta. According to the ASFT website, Dutta-Gupta founded ASFT in 1992 and has served as company president since then.

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More details will be released later on Tuesday, Martin said.

Projo.com has reported that the alleged kickback scheme totaled about $10 million and that supporting affidavits from U.S. District Court in Providence had also charged Ralph Mariano, 52, of Arlington, Va., an employee and engineer with the Naval Sea Systems Command in Newport.

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The United States Department of Justice investigation also involved criminal investigators from the Newport Naval base, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service, according to the news release.

ASFT, a provider of technical support and engineering services for various industries that includes submarine combat control systems, is based in Roswell, GA, and maintains offices in Middletown at the , as well as in Washington D.C.

Last summer, Patch reported that ASFT had landed a with the Newport-based Naval Undersea Warfare Center. The Warfare Center in Newport provides engineering support for military submarines through research, development, and testing.

ASFT reportedly employs more than 100 workers at Middletown's Aquidneck Corporate Park location.

Patch will continue to follow this story as it develops.

 

 


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