Pentagon audit says Boeing cleaned up on Air Force parts, including soap dispensers marked up 8,000%

abcnews.go.com:

According to a Pentagon audit, Boeing has overcharged the Air Force on spare parts for a major cargo plane, including marking up the price of simple lavatory soap dispensers by 8,000%

WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — Boeing overcharged the Air Force nearly $1 million for spare parts on C-17 cargo planes, including an 8,000% markup for simple lavatory soap dispensers, according to the Pentagon’s inspector general.

The Defense Department's auditor reviewed prices paid for 46 spare parts on the C-17 from 2018 to 2022 and found that 12 were overpriced and nine seemed reasonably priced. It couldn't determine the fairness of prices on the other 25 items.

The Office of the Inspector General said it reviewed the soap dispenser prices after getting a hotline tip.

Boeing disputed the findings.

“We are reviewing the report, which appears to be based on an inapt comparison of the prices paid for parts that meet aircraft and contract specifications and designs versus basic commercial items that would not be qualified or approved for use on the C-17," Boeing said in a statement. “We will continue to work with the OIG and the U.S. Air Force to provide a detailed written response to the report in the coming days.”

The C-17 Globemaster is one of the military's largest cargo aircraft. It can carry multiple military vehicles, large pallets of humanitarian supplies or, in extreme circumstances, hundreds of people. The Air Force flew C-17s nonstop for two weeks during the hectic August 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, evacuating more than 120,000 civilians fleeing the Taliban.

Since 2011, the U.S. government has awarded Boeing more than $30 billion in contracts to purchase needed spare parts for the C-17 and be reimbursed by the Air