Shipbuilder agrees to pay government $60 million to settle charges

<br>WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Pentagon announced Tuesday that Northrop Grumman has agreed to pay $60 million to settle a case in which the company's Newport News Shipbuilding Inc. subsidiary allegedly

Tuesday, August 26th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Pentagon announced Tuesday that Northrop Grumman has agreed to pay $60 million to settle a case in which the company's Newport News Shipbuilding Inc. subsidiary allegedly overcharged the government for costs associated with a contract to build double-hulled tankers.

The settlement was announced by the Pentagon's office of the inspector general, which investigated the allegations with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Defense Contract Audit Agency.

The mischarges were for ``independent research and development'' in 1994-99 on a contract to design and develop double-hulled tankers, the Pentagon said.

Newport News Shipbuilding has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Northrop Grumman since November 2001.