A former Goose Creek metal fabricator and its founder are accused in court documents of bilking millions of dollars from federal contracts for the construction of the U.S. Navy’s next-generation nuclear submarine, overbilling the government for labor and materials while its executives pocketed much of the money.
W International and company CEO Ed Walker are the key defendants in a whistleblower case unsealed Monday in federal court in Charleston. The case has been sealed from public view since 2022, when the government was first notified of potential wrongdoing at W International.
Walker could not be reached for comment Monday. He lives in Michigan, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit names John Klausmeier as the whistleblower in the case. Klausmeier previously worked at W International when it was based in Michigan and moved to South Carolina in 2019 to become chief operating officer of the Goose Creek site. Klausmeier was fired in October 2021.
Klausmeier is represented by former U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles, who declined to comment.
The federal government, which took over the case, is asking for a jury trial, which has not been scheduled.
The alleged fraud dates to 2019, when Walker moved W International to Bushy Park Road in the Charleston International Manufacturing Center with the aim of obtaining government shipbuilding contracts.
W International’s assets were acquired last year by military contractor Newport News Shipbuilding, which builds Navy warships, including...
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