A former technician for a voting machines company is alleging the company cheated the federal government by falsifying information about the accuracy and security of its voting system.

The allegation is in a lawsuit the technician filed as a "whistleblower" against his former employer, Hart InterCivic Inc., which he says has a research and development office in Lafayette.

William Singer alleges that Hart InterCivic lied to election officials around the country about the reliability of its voting system in an effort to obtain federal money allocated to the states under the Help America Vote Act of 2002.

Singer sued on behalf of the federal government to recover money he claims was paid to Hart under false pretenses. If the federal government recovers money as a result of Singer's lawsuit, he is entitled to a cut for being a whistleblower.

He filed the lawsuit in 2006 in federal court in Denver, but it was kept sealed until Wednesday after the U.S. Attorney's office decided it would not join Singer in the lawsuit. He now is able to pursue his lawsuit.