4/11/2014 11:33:00 AM
NEWS BRIEFS
Prison Sentence Issued for Man Who Sold Counterfeit Fasteners to U.S. Military
A former bodybuilder who supplied defective self-locking nuts to the U.S. military was sentenced to three years in prison, the Columbus Dispatch reports.
Martin D. Geyer, 54, pleaded guilty in September to “one count of mail fraud for shipping the parts to the military, one count of possessing a firearm while using a controlled substance, and one count of possessing anabolic steroids.”
Investigators found steroids, nine guns and 3,000 rounds of ammunition in Geyer’s Ohio home in 2010.
“He was a ticking time bomb which could well have exploded in a very literal sense,” said U.S. District Judge James L. Graham, noting that the guns in Geyer’s home were fully loaded. “His house was fortified.”
Geyer operated Wellworth Fastener Products out of home, selling nuts, bolts and screws to the U.S. Department of Defense in 2009. He falsely claimed on invoices that the parts met DoD specifications.
“Investigators said the defective parts were considered ‘critical application items,’ meaning their failure could lead to the death or injury of military personnel,” writes Kathy Lynn Gray of the Dispatch. “The parts were used in nuclear power plants and for military aircraft.”
The federal judge ordered Geyer to pay $41,340 in restitution and surrender to prison within 60 days.
Geyer reportedly plans to appeal the sentence.
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