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Date: 07-27-2017
Case Style:
United States of America v. Dennis Balius
Federal Courthouse - Portland, Oregon
Case Number: 3:17-cr-00273-HZ
Judge: Marco A. Hernandez
Court: United States District court for the District of Oregon (Multnomah County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: Thomas B.W. Hall, Jennifer G. Ballanytyne and Emily C. Scruggs
Defendant's Attorney: Whitney Boise
Description: Portland, OR - Former Supervisor at Portland, Oregon-Area Manufacturing Company Pleads Guilty for Role in Product Certification Fraud Scheme
On July 25, 2017, a former supervisor at an aluminum extrusion manufacturing company in the Portland, Oregon, area pleaded guilty for his role in a decade-long scheme involving the fraudulent certification of mechanical properties for parts manufactured by his former employer.
Dennis Balius, 60, of Portland, pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud before U.S. District Judge Marco A. Hernández of the District of Oregon.
As part of his guilty plea, Balius admitted that, as a lab supervisor at a Portland-area aluminum extrusion manufacturing facility, he trained and directed lab technicians – who conducted testing on aluminum extrusions – to falsify mechanical properties test results for extrusions that failed to meet industry specifications. Balius admitted that from the time he became a lab supervisor in or about 2003 through the end of his employment in 2015, he routinely falsified and instructed lab technicians to falsify test results to ensure the company’s unreliable and inconsistent production practices would not prevent aluminum extrusions from being shipped to customers. Balius admitted that he made, or directed lab technicians to make, alterations to failing test results if the shipping department asked him to rush an order because ensuring on-time delivery of aluminum helped him and other employees receive bonuses.
Balius further admitted that his former employer determined that he and the lab technicians altered the mechanical properties of aluminum extrusions over 4,000 times, allowing the manufacturing company to gross over $6.8 million in total sales based on altered test results.
This case was investigated by the NASA Office of Inspector General, the FBI’s Portland office and DCIS.
Individuals who believe that they may be a victim in this case should visit the Fraud Section’s Victim Witness website for more information.
Outcome: Guilty
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
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