Kanishka Sharma

(Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department announced that it had resolved the probes into Balfour beatty Communities (OTC) Communities. This was one of America’s biggest private landlords. It pleaded guilty to one count each of major fraud on Wednesday and agreed to pay more than $65 million in penalties and restitution.

Balfour Beatty is being investigated by the U.S. Air Force. The Army. And Navy. It is an entity of the British infrastructure conglomerate. Balfour Beatty Plc .

Reuters reported in 2019 that Balfour Beatty employees had falsified Air Force maintenance records to qualify for incentives fee payments. Five former employees claimed they falsified company email and internal Air Force communications. Both service personnel and their families were exposed at high levels to raw sewage, vermin and mold.

The reports prompted an investigation by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

Emmet Sullivan of the United States District Court accepted Wednesday’s plea and sentenced the company to pay more than $65 Million, three years probation, and three years in compliance monitoring.

“Balfour Beatty Communities did not repair housing as quickly as needed for U.S. military personnel,” stated Lisa Monaco, Deputy Attorney General. 

Balfour Beatty Communities’ corrupt corporate culture was the cause of this pervasive fraud.

Stacy Cabrera, a former housing manager at Texas’s Lackland Air Force Base who told Reuters she felt pressure to manipulate records to meet the bonus goals, pleaded guilty to major fraud in April. Rick Cunefare was a former Balfour Beatty region manager, who led bases across Texas, Oklahoma and other states. He pleaded guilty to major fraud earlier in the year.