Million Dollar Machine Screw

The twin-sister owners of C&D Distributors in Lexington, South Carolina exploited a flaw in an automated Defense Department purchasing system: bills for shipping to combat areas or U.S. bases that were labeled "priority'' were usually paid automatically.

C&D collected about $20.5 million over 6 years from the Pentagon for fraudulent shipping costs, including $998,798 for sending two 19¢ washers to an Army base in Texas.

The company also billed and was paid $455,009 to ship three machine screws costing $1.31 each to Marines in Iraq, and $293,451 to ship an 89¢ split washer to Patrick Air Force Base in Cape Canaveral.

Wow.