Woman indicted on charges of defrauding government

• The former owner of two New Jersey defense contracting businesses was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday for allegedly submitting fraudulent bids to the U.S Department of Defense and disseminating military technical drawings to India without a license.
• Hannah Robert, 49, of North Brunswick was charged with one count of violating the Arms Export Control Act and one count of conspiracy to violate the act, which prohibits the export of defense articles and defense services without first obtaining a license from the U.S. Department of State.
• Robert also was charged with four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, authorities said.

TRENTON – The former owner of two New Jersey defense contracting businesses was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday for allegedly submitting fraudulent bids to the U.S Department of Defense and disseminating military technical drawings to India without a license, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said in a prepared statement.

Hannah Robert, 49, of North Brunswick, who is currently under home detention pending trial, was charged with one count of violating the Arms Export Control Act and one count of conspiracy to violate the act, which prohibits the export of defense articles and defense services without first obtaining a license from the U.S. Department of State. Robert also was charged with four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, authorities said.

According to the indictment, Robert was the founder, owner and president of One Source USA LLC, located in her Mount Laurel residence, and contracted with the Department of Defense to supply defense hardware items and spare parts pursuant to government contracts. In September 2012, Robert opened a second defense-contracting company, Caldwell Components Inc., also based in Mount Laurel. Along with a resident of India, identified only as “P.R.”, Robert owned and operated another company called One Source India in India, which manufactured defense hardware items and spare parts at its own facility.

The indictment alleges that from June 2010 to December 2012, Robert and P.R. allegedly conspired to defraud the Department of Defense by electronically submitting fraudulent bids for Department of Defense contracts, stating that they would provide parts manufactured in the United States, when in fact, the items were manufactured in India. One Source USA also subcontracted to other U.S. defense contractors. Robert provided export-controlled items made in India to defense contractors in such a way as to appear to the Department of Defense that the items were manufactured in this country, the indictment said.

The indictment also charges that from June 2010 to December 2012, Robert allegedly conspired to export defense blueprints to India without obtaining the necessary licenses from the U.S. Department of State. The exported technical drawings included parts used in the torpedo systems for nuclear submarines, military attack helicopters, and F-15 fighter aircraft.

In addition to United States’ sales, Robert and P.R. sold defense hardware items to foreign customers without obtaining U.S. Department of State approval.

The indictment alleges that on Aug. 23, 2012, P.R. emailed Robert from India requesting the technical drawing for a particular military item. P.R.’s email forwarded Robert an email from an individual purporting to be “an official contractor of the UAE Ministry of Defence,” and who listed a business address in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The UAE email requested quotations for a bid for the “blanket assembly” for the CH-47F Chinook military helicopter and listed the “End User” for the hardware item as the UAE Armed Forces. Later that same day, Robert replied to P.R.’s email, attaching, among other things, the electronic file for an export-controlled technical drawing titled “Installation and Assy Acoustic Blankets, STA 120 CH-47F,” to be used in the Chinook attack helicopter.

The indictment also alleges that starting in October 2010, Robert transmitted the military drawings for parts to India by posting the technical data to the password-protected website of a Camden County church, where she was a volunteer web administrator. This was done without the knowledge of the church staff. Robert emailed P.R. the username and password to the church website so that P.R. could download the files from India. Through the course of the scheme, Robert uploaded thousands of technical drawings to the church website for P.R. to download in India, authorities said.

The indictment alleges that there were quality issues with the parts that Robert provided to the Department of Defense. After the Department of Defense in October 2012 disclosed the failure of certain parts used in the wings of the F-15 fighter aircraft, supplied by one of One Source USA’s American customers, Robert and P.R. provided the principal of that company with false and misleading material certifications and inspection reports for the parts. The documents, to be transmitted to the Department of Defense listed only One Source USA’s New Jersey address and not the address of the actual manufacturer in India, One Source India. As a result of the failed wing pins, the Department of Defense grounded about 47 F-15 fighter aircraft for inspection and repair, at a cost estimated to be more than $150,000.

The indictment further charges that until November 2012, Robert was an employee of a separate defense contractor in Burlington County, where she worked as a system analyst and had access to thousands of drawings marked with export-control warnings and to information on this defense contractor’s bids on Department of Defense contracts. Robert misrepresented to her employer the nature and extent of her involvement with One Source USA.

According to authorities, count one of the indictment charging conspiracy to commit wire fraud, carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Counts two through five, charging substantive wire fraud, each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine of $250,000. Count six, charging conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act, is punishable by a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Count seven, charging a substantive violation of the Arms Export Control Act, is punishable by a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of Robert’s proceeds from the alleged criminal scheme, authorities said.

Staff Writer Susan Loyer: 732-565-7243; sloyer@mycentraljersey.com