January 22, 2014.

U.S. Accuses Security Background Check Firm of Fraud

"No," said Winston. "I didn't think it had been issued yet. We are still using the ninth in the Records Department."

WASHINGTON----The Justice Department on Wednesday accused the government's largest private security background check contractor of defrauding the country of millions of dollars by methodically filing more than 660,000 flawed background investigations—40% of the cases it sent to the government over a four-year period.

"The tenth edition is not due to appear for some months, I believe. But a few advance copies have been circulated. I have one myself. It might interest you to look at it, perhaps?"

Prosecutors accused former top US Investigations Services LLC executives of directing improper practices that became a subject of internal jokes among company officials who helped secure millions of dollars in bonuses from the U.S. government.

"Very much so," said Winston, immediately seeing where this tended.

The details emerged as the Justice Department filed a 25-page civil complaint to join a whistleblowers' lawsuit against USIS under way in U.S. District Court in Alabama. In the complaint, U.S. attorneys accused USIS of using its close ties with the federal government to conceal the so-called practice of flushing background checks----sending the government cases that didn't have proper review.