A NASA contractor is now the subject of a federal lawsuit involving fraud at the Kennedy Space Center for the over-billing of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

It's a suspected six-year scheme that took money out of taxpayers' pockets.

In a lawsuit brought on under the United States False Claims Act, URS Federal Solutions, and its subcontractor, Yang Enterprises, Inc. stand accused of submitting more than a thousand claims for undocumented and unreasonable early replacement of car tires.

Both companies were responsible for overseeing a fleet of some 400 NASA vehicles at the Kennedy Space Center.

From June 2009 through April of 2015, federal prosecutors say URS and Yang turned in $387,000 in false claims for payment for the “unprecedented” number of tire replacements.

Prosecutors cite the example of six tire replacements on just one vehicle over a 27-month time frame. Some of these tires had fewer than 5,000 miles on them.

The lawsuit also alleges URS and Yang installed inferior tires during the replacements -- tires that did not last 60 percent of their expected life.

"We expect government contractors to act with integrity when they fulfill their contractual obligations to the government,” said U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley of Orlando. “Over-billing for services that are not documented or not reasonable hurts the taxpayer."

At Melbourne-based Gatto's Tires and Auto Service, they deal with hundreds of tire changes and repairs a day, including company fleet cars and trucks. Owner Mike McHenry says these types of vehicles are driven far more often than a typical car, but changing a tire at only 5,000 miles isn't reasonable.

"If you gave me that number, I would say that's an awful low number of miles," said McHenry.

And as a company in the same type of business, McHenry would be upset if taxpayer dollars were being defrauded.

"I'm a taxpayer too, I want money being used as efficiently as possible, and spent as efficiently as possible," he said.

This case is also being investigated by NASA'S Office of Inspector General.

We reached out to URS Federal Solutions for comment on the lawsuit. The company's website touts itself as a major contractor for the federal government, supporting military operations, warehouses, distribution centers and government centers like the Kennedy Space Center.

A spokesman sent this statement Wednesday:

"We are disappointed that the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed what we believe is an unwarranted lawsuit against URS, and the company will defend itself vigorously against these allegations.  The company takes its responsibilities as a government contractor very seriously and has a demonstrated track record of serving our customers with honesty and integrity.  We are confident that this lawsuit will ultimately be proven to be without merit."