LOS ANGELES – A Yorba Linda man who owns a Gardena company that contracted with the U.S. Army to overhaul linear actuators used on Apache helicopters pleaded guilty to violating his contract with the military by making unauthorized repairs to motors inside the part.

Bahram Bordbar, 62, the owner of Prototype Engineering and Manufacturing, Inc., pleaded guilty today to a federal charge of making false statements involving aircraft. Bordbar admitted that his fraudulent conduct led to him improperly receiving approximately $320,000 from the Army.

Prototype had a contract to overhaul and repair linear actuators that were used on the Army's AH-64-A Apache helicopter. Prototype was not authorized to repair DC motors used in the linear actuators unless the company received specific authorization from the Army.

According to a plea agreement filed in United States District Court, Prototype used an outside contractor to repair 105 DC motors when those repairs had not been approved by the military. Those repaired motors were installed into overhauled linear actuators which were delivered to the Army.

Bordbar also pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting in the filing of a false tax return related to an employee's tax return. Bordbar paid the employee $100,000, but told the employee the money was a gift and that he would pay the taxes, which prompted the employee to not report the money as income on a federal tax return. Bordbar has agreed to pay the Internal Revenue Service more than $28,000 to pay the employee's back taxes.

Bordbar pleaded guilty before United States District Judge John F. Walter, who is scheduled to sentence the defendant on October 16. At sentencing, Bordbar will face a statutory maximum sentence of 13 years in federal prison.

This case was investigated by the Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and IRS Criminal Investigation.

Component(s): USAO – California, Central

Press Release Number: 17-144Updated August 1, 2017

Central District of California DOJ / 17-144 / August 1, 2017