Set-Asides and Preferences Archives - Page 3 of 8

April 20, 2021

A construction firm in California that allegedly violated federal contracting rules has agreed to pay $2.5 million to resolve civil and criminal charges relating to the misconduct. In order to qualify for contracts set aside for service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB), the owners of Stronghold Engineering, Inc. (SEI) colluded with Kadena Pacific, Inc. (KPI)—owned by a qualifying veteran and the father of SEI owner Beverly Bailey—to obtain fourteen contracts from the VA that were intended for SDVOSBs. USAO CDCA

Tagged in: Contract Non-Compliance, Criminal Proceedings, Government Procurement Fraud, Set-Asides and Preferences,

POGO Reveals Possible “Unholy Alliance” Between ADS, Inc. and the Pentagon

Posted 02/26/21

Business sign saying "Come In We're Open" in white on blue background

As small businesses throughout the United States struggle to survive the economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, one company claiming to be a small business but with hundreds of employees and more than $3 billion in annual sales, as well as a long history of fraud allegations and settlements, continues to reap huge rewards from government contracts. The company—Atlantic Diving Supply, Inc. (ADS)—is...

Tagged in: FCA Federal, FCA State, Government Procurement Fraud, Pricing Fraud, Set-Asides and Preferences, Trade Agreements,

October 7, 2020

J&K Contracting, Inc. will pay $350,000 to the State of Maryland to settle claims that the company violated the Maryland False Claims Act. J&K and its principal, Kryiakos Kiotsekoglou, were alleged to have made false statements that they used and paid subcontractors certified under the state’s Minority Business Enterprise Program. In addition to the fine, defendants have agreed to a voluntary debarment from contracting with the State. MD

Tagged in: FCA State, Government Procurement Fraud, Set-Asides and Preferences,

September 30, 2020

Industries for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Inc., paid $1.9 million to resolve claims brought by a whistleblower under the False Claims Act alleging that the defendant, which received set-aside contracts under the federal government’s AbilityOne Program in exchange for agreeing to provide jobs to workers who are blind or visually impaired, misrepresented its employment of blind personnel. In addition, company personnel allegedly accepted impermissible payments from manufacturers and improperly subcontracted work on government contracts to companies that did not generally use blind labor. DOJ; USAO ED WI

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Government Procurement Fraud, Set-Asides and Preferences, Whistleblower Case,

Fraudsters Beware: Flurry of Recent Actions in Enforcement Show that Contracting Fraud is a Priority

Posted 06/3/20

Four recent state and federal actions indicate that government contracting fraud cases are in the spotlight. These actions all stemmed from alleged violations of laws that give certain businesses, such as, small, minority-owned, or veteran-owned businesses, advantages in obtaining government contracts. These contracts are often called “preference” or “set-aside” contracts and the goal of these laws is to...

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Government Procurement Fraud, Government Programs Fraud, Set-Asides and Preferences,

June 2, 2020

An Oklahoma-based contractor and its corporate affiliates have agreed to pay $2.8 million to settle allegations of violating the False Claims Act in connection with federal contracts intended for disadvantaged small businesses. In order to qualify as a small business, the Ross Group Construction Corporation created two companies, PentaCon LLC and C3 LLC, to bid on and obtain the contracts and falsely represented to the Small Business Administration the full extent of their affiliation. The scheme was eventually revealed in qui tam case filed by Southwind Construction Services, LLC; the company will receive a relator’s share of approximately $520,000. DOJ; USAO WDOK

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Set-Asides and Preferences, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

May 27, 2020

A contractor tasked with constructing a new terminal of the Peoria International Airport using FAA grant funds has agreed to pay $1 million to settle allegations that it fraudulently obtained the contract by misrepresenting its use of a disadvantaged small business. In violation of grant rules as well as the False Claims Act, Williams Brothers Construction Inc. allegedly made false representations and submitted fraudulent documents to make it appear that an eligible firm would do work on the project when instead the work was handed off to an ineligible firm. DOJ; USAO CDIL

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Government Procurement Fraud, Set-Asides and Preferences,

May 4, 2020

Two New York construction companies and their associates have agreed to pay $4.5 million to resolve allegations of defrauding the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and exploiting federal contracting opportunities reserved for veteran-owned small businesses and small businesses located in historically underutilized business zones (HUBZones). Northland Associates, Inc., its president James Tyler, The Diverse Construction Group, and bond agent Rose & Kiernan Inc. allegedly failed to disclose and took steps to conceal the extent to which Diverse, which is 51% vetern-owned and 49% owned by senior Northland officials, took direction from Northland. The government’s investigation was triggered by whistleblower lawsuits; the whistleblowers in this case will receive $1 million of settlement proceeds. USAO SDNY

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Government Programs Fraud, Set-Asides and Preferences, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

December 16, 2019

A Wisconsin man charged with leading a 12-year fraud scheme to win $260 million in government construction contracts intended for small businesses has been sentenced to 6.5 years in prison and ordered to forfeit assets worth almost $4 million. Brian Ganos orchestrated the formation of three construction companies—Nuvo Construction Company, Inc., C3T, Inc., and Pagasa Construction Company, Inc.—and headed them with straw owners who qualified as disadvantaged individuals or service-disabled veterans in order to win government contracts. USAO EDWI

Tagged in: Criminal Proceedings, Government Procurement Fraud, Set-Asides and Preferences,

November 13, 2019

Construction company ABS Development Corporation will pay $2.8 million, and give up $16 million in potential administrative claims, to resolve government charges that it secured a contract reserved for U.S. companies to renovate a U.S. Army shipyard in Haifa, Israel, by falsely representing that it would perform the work when, in fact, ABS knew that work would be performed by its Israeli parent company, Ashtrom International, Ltd. After being awarded the contract, ABS submitted false claims certifiying that it was performing the work as the prime contractor even though the work was being performed by Ashtrom. DOJ

Tagged in: Defense Contract Fraud, FCA Federal, Government Procurement Fraud, Set-Asides and Preferences,

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