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MT POCONO – The owner of an embroidery factory is facing a federal charge after officials learned he outsourced an order to produce flag emblems for military uniforms to Thailand in violation of the Buy American Act.
Brian Moritz of Moritz Embroidery Works Inc. of Mt. Pocono was charged Wednesday with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States.
According to court papers filed by the U.S. Attorneys Office, Moritz won a contract in April 2004 to produce 3 million to 7.2 million flag patches at a cost of 22 cents each for use on U.S. military uniforms. As part of the contract, Moritz agreed to comply with the Buy American Act, which prohibits the Department of Defense from purchasing clothing items that have not been produced in the United States.
Moritz was physically unable to produce the number of flags at his Mt. Pocono facility, so he outsourced the manufacturing to Sheen Ray Embroidery Company in Chaing Mai, Thailand. That resulted in the patches being produced with foreign materials in violation of the Buy American Act.
The court documents to not say how officials discovered the flags were not locally produced. Christian A. Fisanick, the assistant U.S. attorney prosecuting the case, declined to comment.