Defense contractor fraud is the classic form of fraud under the False Claims Act. Despite efforts to combat this fraud since before the Civil War, unscrupulous contractors continue to defraud the government. In this case, the Department of Justice alleges that Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. (owned by United Technologies Corp.) approved prohibited forms of subcontracting that improperly inflated government costs. The company is alleged to have done this knowingly. Defense contractors who defraud the government are often brought to justice only because of the efforts of whistleblowers who stand against fraud and inform the government under the False Claims Act. — Shayne Stevenson