GRANTS PASS — Court records made public Tuesday show that a new search of an Oregon defense contractor accused of providing phony helicopter and truck parts to the military was prompted by testimony from a purchasing agent who is helping investigators.

An affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene says investigators went looking at Kustom Products Inc. in Coos Bay last week for purchase orders and sample parts used as prototypes for phony parts.

Department of Homeland Security Special Agent J.W. King wrote that the search was prompted by three interviews in the past two months with former company purchasing agent Josh Kemp, who faces federal charges along with company owner Harold Ray Bettencourt II, and several members of Bettencourt’s family.

The indictment alleges they supplied counterfeit parts to the military in hundreds of contracts totaling $7.5 million.

The investigation was triggered when Kentucky Army National Guard mechanics noticed that replacement lock nuts for the rotor assembly of Kiowa attack helicopters did not meet specifications. They noted that failure of the nuts could cause the helicopters to crash.