U.S. News
A Nevada Defense Contractor Employed a Pentagon Official While He Evaluated Its Own Products
By Mike Harper · July 29, 2026
He worked for the Pentagon. He also worked for the company the Pentagon was paying. And the company certified there was no conflict of interest.
Sierra Nevada Company, a Sparks, Nevada-based defense contractor, agreed to pay $7.75 million to settle False Claims Act allegations that it employed a government official who simultaneously participated in federal contracts awarded to the company — then submitted false certifications saying no such conflict existed.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced the settlement Tuesday. According to federal authorities, Sierra Nevada Company hired Michael Henry as a consultant from July 2019 through June 2020 while Henry also worked for the Department of Defense as an employee with the Joint Staff’s J6 directorate.
During that overlapping period, Henry was involved in three contracts awarded to Sierra Nevada Company: an Army subcontract awarded in 2019, a General Services Administration contract awarded in 2020, and task orders under a Special Operations Command contract originally awarded in 2018.
The arrangement worked from both directions. In his government role, Henry personally and substantially participated in the contracts by evaluating Sierra Nevada Company’s products and obtaining approvals for them. In his company role, he recommended those same products for purchase. The government was, in effect, getting sales pitches from the same person who was supposed to be conducting independent evaluations.
Federal authorities alleged Sierra Nevada Company submitted false claims, false statements, and false certifications connected to the contracts. Specifically, the government alleged the company knowingly certified the absence of an organizational conflict of interest under the Federal Acquisition Regulation — a certification required to win federal contracts — while employing the very official whose participation created that conflict.
Henry pleaded guilty in 2025 to a one-count criminal indictment for acts affecting a personal financial interest.
The investigation involved the DOD Office of Inspector General, the Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Fraud Field Office, and the GSA’s Office of Inspector General. The settlement resolves only civil allegations — Sierra Nevada Company was not criminally charged.
The contracts at issue were funded by taxpayers. The certifications that secured them were false, according to the government. And the system designed to prevent exactly this kind of conflict relied on the contractor’s own honesty to work. That system failed.