Dive Brief:
- The FBI is investigating OSU-Multispectral Laboratories — a Ponca City, Okla., research company owned by Oklahoma State University — for alleged fraud.
- A husband and wife team are accused of defrauding the company, which conducts sensitive national security research, of millions of dollars, $1.675 million of which was allegedly placed in offshore accounts in Cyprus, as well as used to fund an upscale Oklahoma City dress shop.
- The university and the company filed suit in Kay County District Court last April in an attempt to recover the money, and representatives say that none of the allegedly stolen money was appropriated by the state or federal government. No classified documents are suspected of being stolen, either.
Dive Insight:
Well, this is a mess. It's bad enough that the university was allegedly defrauded, but that it happened at a facility conducting government research with drones and other defense technology could raise a few legislative eyebrows. OSU and its research company are said to be working closely with federal authorities as they investigate the alleged "trust scheme."