RALEIGH, N.C. — Insect Shield LLC and the estate of its late co-founder have agreed to pay $1.4 million to settle federal allegations that the company submitted false claims under Defense Department contracts to supply insect-repellent Army combat uniforms, the Justice Department announced.
The settlement resolves claims that Insect Shield, a North Carolina-based subcontractor, and Richard Lane, a co-founder and former president and chief operating officer, falsified required testing related to the application of permethrin, an insect repellent used on military uniforms. Lane died in December 2022.
According to the government’s complaint, Insect Shield violated the False Claims Act by manipulating test results between 2015 and 2021 while working as a subcontractor to uniform manufacturers supplying the U.S. Army. Prosecutors alleged the company improperly combined results from different testing rounds, relabeled samples to conceal their origin, conducted unauthorized retesting, and hid failed test results.
Federal officials said the alleged misconduct undermined contractual requirements designed to ensure the quality and effectiveness of uniforms used by soldiers.
The civil settlement resolves a whistleblower lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina under the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions, which allow private individuals to sue on the government’s behalf. The whistleblower, identified in court records as Ms. Downs, will receive $315,000 from the settlement.
The Justice Department said the settlement reflects allegations only, and no determination of liability was made.
Note: Read the Insect Shield Agreement here; and the Estate of Richard Lane Agreement here.
