CEO's Outside Ties Choke Force Protection

"Numerous investment specialists questioned why Force Protection hired APT at all," the lawsuit adds, "at least in part because ... APT Leadership in fact slowed down Force Protection production."

For its part, Force Protection claims that the lawsuit relies on "stale accusations that have already been addressed thoroughly and satisfactorily by Force Protection and outside agencies."

Force Protection's original founder and its former CFO filed the lawsuit after Force Protection sued them for allegedly stealing company secrets. Both lawsuits are currently working their way through the court system.

Charts and Diagrams

Meanwhile, an independent government review has exposed real shortcomings at the company.

In a detailed report published this summer, the Office of the Inspector General revealed that Force Protection regularly missed production deadlines -- often under McGilton's watch -- despite generous help from the military. Ultimately, the OIG seemed to question whether Force Protection should have secured some of those lucrative contracts at all.

The military "continued to award contracts for armored vehicles to FPI even though FPI did not perform as a responsible contractor and repeatedly failed to meet contractual delivery schedules for getting the vehicles to the theater," the OIG stated. "Had other contractors been provided with assistance, such as facilitization fees and relaxed delivery schedules, a number of other systems may have been available to help [the government] in meeting the urgent requirements."