Lewis-McChord fence case settled

An Anchorage-based Alaska Native corporation will pay $822,000 to settle federal claims it tried to defraud the government by substituting light steel for more expensive, heavier steel in the construction of security fences at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

The civil settlement requires Chugach Management Services to pay twice the amount of the overbilling that resulted from the substitution of the lighter steel.

Chugach does not admit any wrongdoing in the civil settlement, which was negotiated by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter Winn and Kayla Stahman.

The investigation was launched by the Defense Department's Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS). Jennifer Wallace, a resident agent in charge, said that Chugach actions reflected "a contractor's attempts to commit fraud in order to inflate profits. Such acts will not be tolerated and will be fully investigated and referred for prosecution by DCIS and our law-enforcement counterparts."

Chugach is part of Chugach Alaska Corp., one of the regional corporations created by the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Chugach Alaska has more than 2,200 shareholders of Aleut, Indian and Eskimo heritage, and last year had billings of more than $1 billion, according to the corporation's website.

Hal Bernton: 206-464-2581 or hbernton@seattletimes.com