L3 Communications, the holding company that owns EOTech, is being sued by the United States Government for fraud. Their products were the subject of a recent SOCOM warning that the EOTech holographic sights experienced shifting zero across different temperature ranges, which was also a factor in Elite Defense, the international distributor for the sights, cutting ties with L3. SoldierSystems.net has more information on the lawsuit:

The Department of Justice has been investigating EOTech for some time and has finally filed suit (US v. L-3 Communications EOTech Inc., 15-cv-09262) in US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

Specifically, the Government’s allegations concentrate on the performance of the Holographic Weapon Sights at temperature extremes as well as in high moisture environments.  The Government also claims that EOTEch failed to disclose testing that demonstrated the inaccuracy issues in those environments.

In addition to naming L-3 and EOTech as defendants in the Government’s suit, they also named EOTech’s president, Paul Mangano which isn’t very common. They are seeking unspecified triple damages plus civil penalties of as much as $11,000 for each fraudulent claim.

L-3 has been aware of the pending action, having mentioned the issue in their July 2015 SEC filing as well as setting aside $26 million.

EOTech sights, though they have a steady fanbase, have had their fair share of issues. The sights have been troubled by much poorer battery life (about an order of magnitude lower) than comparable Aimpoints, due to the laser diode projection system, as opposed to the latter’s LED-based system. In the past, there have also been complaints with L3 Communication’s quality control, and the optics having parts breakages, such as broken battery contacts and detached reflectors. On the other hand, L3 Communications is one of the only manufacturers of laser diode holographic weapon sights on the market, which makes EOTechs one of the only available optics lines with the sharp, clear, customizable reticle afforded by holographic laser projection.

L3 Communications has apparently been under investigation by the Department of Justice for some time, and not just for faulty weapons sights. Earlier this year, they reached a settlement with the Department of Justice on a case regarding the company fraudulently overcharging the DoD for maintenance hours.