US Navy shipbuilder Austal USA agrees to pay $24 million to settle accounting fraud probe

Austal USA, an Alabama-based shipbuilder that makes vessels for the U.S. Navy, has admitted wrongdoing and agreed to pay a $24 million fine to settle an accounting fraud investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

From 2013 through July 2016, Austal USA conspired to mislead shareholders and investors about the company’s financial condition, the department said. The company pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud and one count of obstruction of a federal audit.

Austal USA “engaged in a years-long scheme to illegally inflate its profits on ships the company was building for the U.S. Navy, reporting false financial results to investors, lenders, and its auditors,” Nicole M. Argentieri, principal deputy assistant attorney general and head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said in a statement.

The Justice Department said Austal artificially lowered cost estimates, despite rising shipbuilding costs, to meet its revenue budget and projections. That had the impact of falsely overstating Austal USA’s profitability on the ships and Austal Limited’s earnings reported in its public financial statements.