10 Hanford Managers Indicted in Timecard Scheme

RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — A federal grand jury has indicted 10 current or former managers and supervisors for a contractor at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site, accusing them of enabling timecard fraud there. The company, CH2M Hill Hanford Group, held a contract from 1999-2008 to clean out radioactive waste from underground tanks at south-central Washington's Hanford Nuclear Reservation. The indictment claims the company failed to follow a recommendation in a 2004 independent audit to install new timecard equipment to verify that employees worked the hours they claimed. The Tri-City Herald reported Wednesday that nine workers previously pleaded guilty to felony charges related to the timecard fraud. In addition, CH2M Hill agreed earlier this month to pay $18.5 million to settle civil and criminal allegations of defrauding taxpayers in the scheme.

Associated Press