Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding Executive Suspended Over Criminal Fraud Allegations

Fincantieri Marine Group announced on Thursday that it has suspended the general manager of its Bay Shipbuilding shipyard in Sturgeon Bay, Wis. over recent criminal fraud charges.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently charged Craig Perciavalle and two other former Austal USA employees for "allegedly making or causing to be made false and misleading statements about Austal USA's performance and financial condition between 2012 and 2016", according to Austal USA, a subsidiary of Australian shipbuilding group Austal. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also filed civil charges against the three individuals.

“We are aware of the criminal indictment and civil complaint filed against Craig [Perciavalle] related to his previous employment before coming to FBS,” said Marco Galbiati, CEO of Fincantieri Marine Group, the U.S. subsidiary of Italian shipbuilding giant Fincantieri. “We have chosen to suspend him from his current duties until these matters are resolved.”

The SEC and DOJ alleged that former Ausal USA president Perciavalle, Joseph Runkel and William Adams artificially reduced and suppressed an accounting metric, called estimate at completion (EAC), in relation to multiple littoral combat ships that Austal USA was building for the U.S. Navy.

Perciavalle was employed at Austal USA from from 2007 until his resignation in 2021. He joined Fincantieri Marine Group as VP General Manager in 2021.

Jan Allman will serve as Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding’s interim general manager, in addition to her role as Fincantieri Marine Group’s senior vice president for public affairs and community relations.