Feds: Contractor tried conning U.S. military with knockoffs

A Teaneck contractor substituted cheap knockoffs for the parts he was paid to produce for U.S. military vehicles, then pocketed the difference, federal prosecutors said. H. Galip Dedekarginoglu, a 55-year-old Turkish national, was arrested at the Leonia office of his business, New York Machinery LLC, which operated out of Little Ferry when he raked in more than $1 million worth of Defense Department contracts.

Jerry DeMarco

10/07/2009 10:54 p.m.

Rather than producing “exact products” manufactured according to specifications, Dedekarginoglu substituted cheaper parts re-labeled for sale, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Magdo.

Photo taken at Dedekarginoglu’s Turkish plant

Whether Dedekarginoglu goes to trial is questionable. A former employee and admitted co-conspirator, Atilla Kan, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with the scheme.

Some were made in Turkey, at a much cheaper cost than in the U.S., at a 25-year-old company he owns, boosting his profits even more, she said.

The indictment, returned last month, charges the permanent legal U.S. resident with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and five counts of wire fraud, from 2001 through 2005.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Patty Shwartz freed Dedekarginoglu on a $500,000 secured bond pending an Oct. 14 arraignment before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton.

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