In previous filings Amphenol (APH), a manufacturer of electrical and fiber optic connectors, has acknowledged receiving a subpoena in 2018 from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), Office of the Inspector General (OIG) requesting documents related to parts the company’s Military and Aerospace business sold to the U.S. Government.

During a recent meeting, Amphenol revealed in its latest quarterly filing the OIG now believes the company committed fraud:

“...in a meeting with representatives of the U.S. government, it was alleged that the Company likely violated various provisions of federal law, including violations under the civil False Claims Act.”

If we’re interpreting the filing correctly, it appears Amphenol continued to ship products to the DOD despite being ordered to stop doing so:

“The alleged violations relate to various Company actions and inactions that occurred prior to and surrounding the several “stop shipment” orders regarding certain military connector products that were received by the Company in March 2016 and lifted by the U.S. government for all affected products over a period from April 2016 through January 2017.“

Notably, Amphenol did not include boilerplate language regarding its intention to “vigorously” defend itself against the allegations. Instead, Amphenol stated it’s evaluating the allegations and is continuing to communicate and cooperate with the U.S. government.

The disclosure came after the market closed on a Friday.