Nikolas Kerest, U.S. attorney for the District of Vermont, speaks during a press conference in Burlington on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerUpdated at 4:32 p.m.A Vermont defense contractor will pay the federal government $426,000 to settle allegations that it sold the U.S. military protective eyewear with components sourced from outside the country — a violation of defense procurement policy, officials said.The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont announced the settlement with Revision Military, which is based in Essex Junction, in a press release Monday. According to the settlement, Revision falsely claimed that eyewear it supplied from 2016 to 2020 was fully compliant with federal standards that such products contain textiles sourced only from within the U.S. At issue, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said, was foreign-sourced material used to make the carrying pouches, cases and straps for some of its products.The office brought a civil case against the company under the federal False Claims Act, which is the feds’ primary mechanism for prosecuting fraud against the government.“In selling products that it knew to be non-compliant, Revision violated the trust placed in government contractors in furtherance of its bottom line,” Nikolas Kerest, the U.S. attorney for Vermont, said in the press release. Since the feds’ investigation started, Revision has acknowledged that its employees tasked with product sourcing knew they were using non-compliant manufacturing materials, Kerest’s office said. The company does not dispute the government’s accounting, the settlement states, though also “expressly denies” any liability. In its own press release, Revision said that, more specifically, it contended to federal investigators “that there were no damages to the government” because its products performed as intended. The government’s only issues, the company said, were with “accessories” to the eyewear, not with the products’ “functional” components — such as lenses or frames — themselves.However, “rather than litigate these issues, Revision and the government agreed to resolve the matter amicably,” the company said in the Tuesday release.Then-U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., pictured in July 2017 at a facility in Newport that Revision Military operated at the time. Photo by Dan Schwartz/VTDiggerThe settlement credits Revision with taking steps to ensure its compliance with federal standards starting in 2019, when it was acquired by new owners. That included replacing the managers tasked with overseeing product compliance, it states.Revision employs about 140 people at a 53,000 square-foot facility in Essex Junction, where it assembles all of its eyewear, according to the company’s website.The company received early support from then-Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., whose office said in 2010 that it had steered $10 million in federal funding to Revision and who, in 2017, helped it secure a $98 million lightweight combat helmet contract. The state also provided support to the company, which has often served as the backdrop for politicians’ press conferences.Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont defense contractor settles with feds over fraud allegations.