Grand Junction company to pay $1M for selling Army subpar grenade launchers

DENVER (AP) - A Colorado weapons manufacturer has agreed to a $1 million settlement for allegedly shipping subpar grenade launchers to the U.S Army.

U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn said Tuesday that Capco, based in Grand Junction, supplied the Army with M320 grenade launchers between July 2016 and March 2018 even though company officials knew the barrels did not meet specifications. Prosecutors say the company also knew that two shipments included launchers with firing pins made of the wrong type of steel but did not tell the Army.

Capco did not admit any liability in the settlement, and a company spokeswoman said she was preparing a response.

The government was alerted to the problems in Capco’s production process by a man who worked as a quality engineer at the company.

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