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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Office of Inspector General
Washington, D.C. 20546

January 24, 2003

RELEASE 2003-017: NEW INDICTMENTS IN COUNTERFEIT PARTS SCHEME

On January 16, 2003, the United States Attorney's Office, Los Angeles, 
California, filed a seven count superceding indictment against RAM 
Enterprises, Inc., of Valencia, California; Richard A.  Monstein, the 
President/Owner of RAM; Timothy Gordon, RAM's Quality Assurance 
Manager; Precision Components (also known as PCL) of Camarillo, 
California; and David Erickson, the owner of Precision Components.  
The indictment alleges the defendants conspired to counterfeit 
electrical connectors being used on NASA, Department of Defense, and 
commercial programs.

The indictment alleges that Monstein, Erickson, and Gordon
manufactured counterfeit connectors and altered products to appear as
though they were made by qualified vendors.  These connectors were
sold to companies who then distributed them to NASA, the Department of 
Defense, and commercial corporations.  This indictment supercedes the 
original indictment of August 1, 2002, which charged RAM, its owner, 
and its quality manager with one count of conspiracy and two counts of 
making false statements to the U.S. Government.  The superceding 
indictment also includes Precision Components and its owner and adds 
one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods and three counts of 
fraud involving an interstate carrier.

This investigation was conducted by Special Agents of the NASA Office 
of Inspector General's Office of Investigations, the Defense Criminal 
Investigative Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the 
Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, the U.S.
Army Criminal Investigation Division, and the U.S. Air Force Office of 
Special Investigations.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence S.
Middleton, Central District of California, Los Angeles, California is
handling the prosecution.

For information on the affected parts, please call Special Agent Wayne 
Leaders at (661) 276-3130.  For other information on this release, 
please contact Paul Shawcross, Executive Officer, NASA Office of 
Inspector General, at (202) 358-2558.


Previous Releases:
2002-087 - NASA Contractor Indicted For Conspiracy and False
Statements
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/oig/hq/press/pr2002-087.html

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