Government Procurement Fraud

May 1, 2019

Michael S. Flynn of Bridgeport, Connecticut, pleaded guilty to charges arising from his role in rigging bids on contracts to install insulation at construction projects for universities, hospitals, and other public and private entities in Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts.  Flynn owned and ran an insulation contractor, an conspired with competitors to fix prices and submit bids that inflated customer costs by at least 10%, costing victims more than $45 million in total.  Flynn faces up to 30 years in prison.  DOJ

May 1, 2019

An Alaska Native Corporation that qualified for the Small Business Administration’s set aside contracts has agreed to pay $2 million to settle a whistleblower’s allegations that it paid kickbacks to obtain said contracts.  According to a qui tam complaint by Susann Campbell, Kikiktagruk Inupiat Corporation (KIC), and its subsidiary, KIC Development LLC (KICD), paid bribes to a contract employee with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers in order to obtain preferential treatment and confidential government information to ensure it won a construction contract at the military’s Ft. Bliss installation in Texas.  USAO WDTX

April 23, 2019

Oregon-based aluminum supplier Hydro Extrusion Portland, Inc., formerly known as Sapa Profiles Inc., together with its parent company, has agreed to pay $47 million to settle criminal mail fraud charges and civil claims alleging that between 1996 and 2015, the company altered the results of tensile tests measuring the consistency and reliability of extruded aluminum, and falsified certifications about products meeting testing requirements and contract specifications. Among the customers who received products that defendants knew did not meet contract specifications were NASA and the Dept. of Defense Missile Defense Agency.  The $47 million total settlement payment consists of forfeiture of $1.8 million, $34.1 million in criminal restitution to NASA, DOD, and commercial customers – $23.6 million of which is also credited to resolve civil claims under the False Claims Act – and an additional $11 million in payments to resolve civil FCA claims.  Defendant entered into a deferred prosecution agreement and has been  suspended as a U.S. government contractor.  DOJ; USAO EDVA

April 22, 2019

Three Michigan construction firms will pay $466,500 to resolve claims of bid rigging and fraudulent billing for renovation work performed at Amtrak stations for the National Railroad Passenger Corporation.   Tooles Contracting Group, LLC, Commercial Contracting Corporation, and G&B Electric, Inc., along with G&B's president James Gierlach, were alleged to have unlawfully shared bid information and inflated invoices and time records.  USAO ED MI

April 12, 2019

A network security company based in California has agreed to pay $545,000 for misrepresenting its products’ compliance with the Trade Agreements Act (TAA), which prohibits federal agencies from acquiring products made in certain countries. According to a suit by whistleblower Yuxin “Jay” Fang, an employee of Fortinet had directed others to tamper country of origin labels to make it look as if products made in China were from the United States. The products were eventually sold to government entities—including the Department of Defense—creating a security risk for those entities. USAO NDCA

March 20, 2019

South Korean companies Hyundai Oilbank Co. Ltd. and S-Oil Corporation will plead guilty and pay $127 million in fines to resolve criminal and civil claims arising from the defendants’ alleged bid-rigging and price-fixing in contracts to supply fuel to U.S. military bases in South Korea.  The settlement, the second announced by DOJ in an ongoing investigation, resolves criminal conspiracy and antitrust claims, as well as civil antitrust and False Claims Act violations related to the bid-rigging conspiracy. DOJ

March 5, 2019

The United States reached a $25 million settlement against an Afghan delivery and transport subcontractor accused of violating the False Claims Act. From 2010 to 2012, Hikmat Shadman Logistics Services Company (HSLSC) and its owner, Hikmatullah Shadman, allegedly overcharged the United States millions of dollars by inflating their rates to well above those of competitors, falsifying thousands of documents, and charging for work that was never performed. In addition to the civil charges, HSLSC faced criminal charges for paying bribes to at least two U.S. service members to influence the awarding of contracts. As part of the criminal settlement, the company and its officers have agreed to seek no further business with the United States and to refrain from applying for travel visas to the United States. DOJ; USAO DC

February 22, 2019

Mark Cundiff of Macon, Georgia, was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $380,000 to the federal government.  Cundiff, a former DOD employee at Robins Air Force Base, was responsible for soliciting bids for new contracts at the base.  Cundiff accepted cash payments of $2,000-$8,00 monthly over the course of almost ten years from co-defendant Raymond Williams (previously sentenced to five years in prison) in exchange for drafting bid solicitation Performance Work Statements in such a way that the contracts could only be met by Williams and his companies, US Technology Corporation and US Technology Aerospace Engineering Corporation.  The UST companies and Williams received almost $14.5 million in government contracts as a result of the bribery scheme.  USAO MD GA