One of the largest privatized military housing landlords has agreed to pay $500,000 to settle claims that it falsified maintenance records at Dover Air Force Base, the Justice Department said.
Between January 2013 and June 2019, Hunt Companies Inc. submitted false information to the Air Force in order to receive higher performance incentive payouts from the government, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Wilmington.
“When companies put servicemembers’ welfare at risk to maximize profit, they cheat the government as well as everyone who serves our country,” said U.S. Attorney David C. Weiss in a statement. “We will not tolerate such disappointing conduct.”
The settlement, announced earlier this month, resolves those allegations and means there is no admission of fault by the company based in El Paso, Texas, which operates Eagle Heights Family Housing, Dover Air Force Base’s long-term residences for service members and their families.
“I was overjoyed to hear that there was action being taken against Hunt Military Housing and I’m hoping that this is the first domino to fall,” said Kasey Wilson, who in 2019 detailed housing problems she and others living at the base experienced.
Wilson and her family moved into Eagle Heights in 2014, where they lived in a quadplex until 2018. During that time, Wilson said she saw mushrooms growing on the bathroom wall tile and water coming in through the back door.
Her family moved off base for a short period but returned in 2019 to Eagle Heights where in early November and December of that year they had to leave their new house because of mold and leaks.
“What they took from us were tangible items such as furniture, photos, decorations,” she said. “But more than that, they took away my health.”
HOW IT STARTED:Military families at Dover Air Force Base experience mold, illnesses
Her husband, who is in the Air Force, has been transferred to another base, taking his family with him. Wilson, who keeps in touch with other people in Dover, said the issues continue: “This is two years later and it’s still happening.”
Mold and missed opportunities
The government’s claims were based, in part, on a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Christine Kibler, a former Hunt employee who “observed appalling conditions in the military housing maintained” by Hunt, according to court records obtained by Delaware Online/The News Journal.
As part of her duties, Kibler inspected homes that were being prepared for new residents on the base.
“She quickly came across issues that included mold in the homes, fire safety issues, ventilation issues, and water leaks,” according to the lawsuit. “The homes were not being treated or repaired appropriately and instead service tickets were being falsified by Defendants’ employees to indicate the issues had been addressed.”
Those tickets were then submitted to the Department of Defense in order to ensure Hunt would continue to receive funding through their contract, according to the lawsuit.
Around May 2019, Kibler spoke with a maintenance technician, who according to the lawsuit told her the previous maintenance manager had falsely certified the completion of more than 80 work orders.
“These reports were presented to the government as having been completed,” the lawsuit said.
Through their actions and work practices, Hunt “burned many bridges” with Dover-area contractors, leaving Kibler to find vendors with which to get simple repairs done, according to the lawsuit. Several of the contractors Kibler was able to get expressed concerns about the base housing. This includes:
- A fire safety equipment contractor noted the sprinkler system was shut down, the fire extinguishers had been recalled and there had been no licensed fire safety contractor on site to inspect the equipment and conditions for more than a 10-year period.
- A foundation and concrete contractor expressed concern about a foundation crack issue he saw, as well as moisture readings that had not been conducted on the housing. The lack of moisture readings was of specific concern because it could have prevented the mold buildup that ultimately occurred.
After Kibler addressed her concerns with two Hunt directors, the lawsuit claims she was fired on June 17, 2019, because she “was not the right fit.”
Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3.
