Author Archives: Steven Koprince

SmallGovCon Week In Review: March 14-18, 2016

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With much of the country on spring break this week, it has allowed us to slow down a little bit to enjoy the weather and more importantly spend some time working on our March Madness picks. (That Little Rock win was amazing, but blew up my brackets).

So while I no longer have to worry about a perfect bracket, I do have to make sure that the weekend doesn’t arrive without a dose of SmallGovCon Week In Review. This installment looks at alleged procurement fraud in upstate New York, a deeper look at why it took the SBA so long to reach its WOSB contracting goals, a new online database that was launched to help small business gain federal contracts, and much more.

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SDVOSB Fraud: $5 Million Settlement In Rent-A-Vet Case

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A New York business has agreed to pay $5 million, plus interest, to resolve allegations that its CEO, President, and others engaged in a scheme to fraudulently obtain SDVOSB set-aside contracts.

According to a Department of Justice press release, the CEO and President of Hayner Hoyt Corporation created a company supposedly run by a service-disabled veteran.  However, the veteran in question was not involved in making important business decisions, but was instead responsible for overseeing Hayner Hoyt’s tool inventory and plowing snow from Hayner Hoyt’s property.  Although the DOJ is perhaps too polite to use the term “rent-a-vet” in its press release, that’s exactly what this scheme sounds like.

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Ostensible Subcontractor Affiliation: Beware These “Four Key Factors,” Says SBA OHA

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Ostensible subcontractor affiliation can arise for many reasons–but a small business may be in grave danger of affiliation with its subcontractor when four specific factors are present.

In a recent size appeal decision, the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals held that a small prime contractor was unusually reliant on its large subcontractor where “four key factors” indicated that the small prime contractor was bringing little to the table but its small business status.

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Universal Mentor-Protege Program Update: “June or July,” Says SBA

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The SBA says that it expects to issue a final rule on its proposed “universal” mentor-protege program in June or July 2016.

Buried in an interview with Federal News Radio on the WOSB program (itself a worthy topic), John Shoraka, the SBA’s Associate Administrator of Government Contracting and Business Development stated that the SBA expects to issue a final rule this summer, and begin implementation in the fall.

Recently, many contractors have been asking me for updates on the universal mentor-protege program.  Now we have one, and it’s time for contractors to start seriously thinking about taking advantage of this major new program.

SmallGovCon Week In Review: March 7-11, 2016

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Spring seems to have arrived early here in Lawrence, as we have been hovering around the 70-degree mark for over a week now. For me, spring is grilling season, and I’m ready to get a couple racks of ribs on my Big Green Egg this weekend.  But who am I kidding–every season is grilling season for me.

While I daydream of smoked baby backs, I haven’t forgotten that if it’s Friday, it’s time for SmallGovCon Week In Review.  This week, our government contracting news includes a False Claims Act violation, a major milestone for women-owned business, a constitutional challenge to the 8(a) Program, and much more.

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SBA Size Protests: Subcontracting Limits Off The Table

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The SBA does not evaluate compliance with the limitations on subcontracting as part of the SBA size protest process.

In a recent decision, the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals confirmed that subcontracting limits are the domain of the procuring agency, which is to consider compliance (or lack thereof) as part of its responsibility determination.

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Busy Employee “Skims” SBA Size Protest Email–What Could Go Wrong?

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A contractor’s “frantically busy” employee, who was listed as the firm’s contact in SAM, skimmed through an email from the SBA containing a size protest, and took no action to respond.

In a recent size appeal decision, the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals held that the SBA had properly issued an adverse size determination against the contractor in question after receiving no reply to the size protest–and the fact that the employee who received it was “frantically busy” was no excuse.

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