NASA Agent’s Testimony on Credibility Doesn’t Support Conviction

A former low-level employee at an aviation company saw his fraud convictions vacated Friday when the Eleventh Circuit said the trial court wrongly allowed a NASA investigator to testify about the man’s credibility.

Jonathan Hipps worked as a technical specialist for STAT Industry Inc. making between $10 and $12 per hour. He was assigned to a NASA contract for stainless steel threaded rods that were required to be made in the U.S. When the rods arrived from the direct supplier, Hipps was told to remove the labels and send them to NASA. He testified that he didn’t know the rods ...