An NCIS Agent’s Fight Against Counterfeit and Critical Fraudulent Parts In The Military

A retired special agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) wrote an article in the January/February 2023 edition of Fraud Magazine entitled “Battling Fraudulent Product Substitution“. In the article, Stewart Thompson talks about his experiences using proactive approaches to combat product substitution at Naval Air (NAVAIR) Systems Command in Patuxent River, Maryland.

Product substitution is different from other types of procurement fraud, such as price fixing, cost mischarging, bribery, and subcontractor kickbacks. Counterfeit/non-conforming parts can mean the difference between life and death, especially when installed in military aircraft and weapon systems. According to Thompson, aggressive enforcement in the form of proactive operations is often the most effective way to stop these bad actors; sometimes, it’s the only way.