Academi, Triple Canopy and 5 other Companies Merge forming the Largest High Threat Security Group in the World

June 13, 2014 | OVERSEAS INTEL, The Danger Zone

A press release from Constellis Holdings signals major news in the High Threat Security Industry. Academi, the company formerly known as Blackwater and Xe, will join Triple Canopy along with a handful of other high threat security companies under a new management structure named Constellis Holdings.

“This move allows us to create a suite of services to better provide critical support capabilities for government and commercial clients and will utilize ACADEMI’s world-class training facility, the largest and most comprehensive private training center in the U.S.” said Jason DeYonker, Managing Director of Constellis Holdings, Inc.

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Constellis Holdings, Inc. has agreed to acquire Constellis Group, Inc., a leading provider of security, support and advisory services to government, multinational corporations and international organizations operating in challenging environments around the world. Constellis Holdings was formed by the founders of Triple Canopy and the private equity investors who formed ACADEMI.

The transaction brings together a global team of industry leaders, including: Triple Canopy, Constellis Ltd., Strategic Social, Tidewater Global Services, National Strategic Protective Services, ACADEMI Training Center and International Development Solutions.

Operating under the oversight of a distinguished Board and an experienced management team, the combination of these companies will enable a significant expansion of services within the global security market, delivering mission support, integrated security solutions, training and advisory services at home and abroad.

Constellis Holdings’ Board of Directors includes: Red McCombs (Chairman), former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, former White House Chief Counsel Jack Quinn, Admiral Bobby Inman (Ret.), Russ Robinson, Jason DeYonker, Dean Bosacki and Triple Canopy co-founder Tom Katis.

“This combination of companies shares our core values of integrity and transparency, ensuring our clients of our ongoing dedication to oversight and good governance through our award-winning compliance practices,” said former U.S. Attorney General and current Board member John Ashcroft.

Board member and Triple Canopy founder Tom Katis reinforces, “This combination will provide our customers with the best possible service at the most competitive price. We share a commitment to flawless delivery of mission critical services. We share a bond with our employees, who are mostly decorated veterans who continue to serve their country in the private sector. We share a willingness to do the toughest jobs in support of the efforts to make our world a better place.”

The combined ownership group will employ more than 6,000 of the industry’s most experienced and best-trained employees and will be led by CEO Craig Nixon.

Triple Canopy Forms an Employee-Owned Company

February 18, 2014 | OVERSEAS INTEL

Triple Canopy, Inc., a global provider of mission support, security, training and advisory services, is pleased to announce that it has formed a 100 percent employee-owned company by establishing an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). A veteran-owned and veteran-run company, more than 80 percent of Triple Canopy's workforce is made up of former military personnel.

"This is an exciting time for Triple Canopy and we are proud to become a majority veteran, employee-owned company," said Triple Canopy CEO Ignacio Balderas. "Delivering quality services to governments and multinational companies in challenging locations remains the mainstay of our business success."

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False Claims Act Lawsuit Dismissed Aganist Triple Canopy

July 23, 2013 | Justice Abroad

The Eastern District of Virginia dismissed a False Claims Act complaint brought by the government and a whistleblower, finding that the government failed to adequately plead that it relied on allegedly false marksmanship tests when it paid a government contractor. U.S. ex rel. Badr v. Triple Canopy, Inc., Case No. 1:11-cv-288 (E.D. Va. June 19, 2013).

Triple Canopy had a contract with the government to provide security services at United States military bases in Al Asad, Iraq. As part of the contract, Triple Canopy was required to ensure that all of its personnel maintained certain weapons qualifications. Triple Canopy brought 332 guards from Uganda to work at the bases. According to the allegations of the complaint, it quickly became clear to Triple Canopy that the guards could not meet the minimum weapons qualification requirements. As a result, the complaint alleges, Triple Canopy began to falsify the guards’ scorecards.

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U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee dismissed the False Claims Act claim, holding that because the invoices Triple Canopy submitted for payment did not, themselves, contain false statements, they could not be considered “false claims” for purposes of FCA liability. Distinguishing the case from those involving defective products, the court explained that there could “be some inherent value retained in a service that is provided by an unqualified employee compared to a complete inability to use a product that is rendered defective.” The court held that the government had failed to sufficiently allege that the guards’ services were “entirely devoid of value or that the noncompliance with the weapons qualification requirement caused any injury to the government such that the guards effectively provided no service at all.”

The government also asserted that Triple Canopy’s submission of invoices to the government constituted a “false implicit certification” of compliance with the requirements of the contract. Judge Lee, however, recognized that the Fourth Circuit has not adopted an “implied certification theory” of liability under the False Claims Act. Even if it had, the court held that the government’s failure to plead that weapons qualification certification forms were a precondition for payment undermined their implied certification theory of liability.

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About Triple Canopy

Triple Canopy is a leading global provider of mission support, security and training services. We offer comprehensive program management solutions to support government agencies and multinational corporations in high risk and complex environments across the globe. Our personnel bring a dynamic combination of management, expertise and execution to each challenge–delivering long-term, cost-effective programs that are specifically tailored to meet customer needs.