Military contractor will pay $501,212

A military contractor will pay more than $500,000 after it failed to deliver test equipment to the Air Force and refused to return the money the company had been paid.

Data Physics Corp., a San Jose, Calif., company, settled the case with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Salt Lake City earlier this week, agreeing to pay the government $501,212.

The incident was investigated by Hill Air Force Base's special investigations office.

"The government is engaged in billions of dollars of contracting in Utah, and we will work tirelessly to ensure contractors are held accountable when the taxpayers don't receive the benefit of the contract," U.S. Attorney for Utah Brett L. Tolman said in a prepared statement.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Data Physics filed a claim for payment after ordering equipment used in testing nuclear missiles from a subcontractor. That equipment, however, was never delivered to the Air Force.