PROVIDENCE – The United States Attorney’s Office has resolved a civil False Claims Act investigation into Hyman Brickle & Son, Inc., a Woonsocket-based Rhode Island textile manufacturing company that supplies products to the U.S. military, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.
The investigation focused on allegations that Hyman Brickle sold woolen blankets to the U.S. Department of Defense, despite knowing that the blankets were produced using labor from India, rather than U.S. labor, as federal law requires. Through legislation known as the Berry Amendment, Congress has required that textiles sold to the Department of Defense be produced in the United States, including using United States labor for the production of the textiles. The government alleges that Hyman Brickle’s sale of these nonconforming goods to the Department of Defense violated the False Claims Act.
As part of the False Claims Act settlement, Hyman Brickle will pay $492,236 to the federal government, representing full restitution for the cost of product paid for by the U.S. government and double the damages on the relevant claims.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bethany Wong handled the litigation of this matter. The case was investigated by the U.S. Defensive Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office, and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, Major Procurement Fraud Field Office.
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