Northrop Grumman Accused of Missile-Defense Contract Fraud

Northrop Grumman Corp. was accused in a whistle-blower lawsuit by a former employee of lying to the U.S. government about steps it took to develop a civilian airliner missile-defense system.

Northrop Grumman lied about its progress and failed to deliver a viable product after being paid more than $62 million for the third phase alone of a project the defense contractor once called the Guardian System, according to the complaint filed in 2009 by Leo Danielides, an Illinois resident.

U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo in Chicago ordered the lawsuit unsealed yesterday after the government said in a Jan. 22 filing that it couldn’t decided whether to join the case because it hadn’t completed its investigation.

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