SmallGovCon Week In Review: August 7-11, 2017

I don’t know about you, but I am ready for the weekend.  I’m looking forward to spending some time with the family before I turn into a bit of a road warrior.  Next week, I’ll be at the 21st Government Procurement Conference in Texas; the following week I head to the West Coast for the Navy Gold Coast Small Business Procurement Event, and I’ll wrap up the month in Oklahoma at the Indian Country Business Summit.

If you’ll be at any of these events, please stop by to say hello and talk about the latest happenings in the world of government contracts.  And speaking of latest happenings, it’s time for the SmallGovCon Week In Review. In this week’s edition, a look at what it takes for contractors to win at the end of the federal fiscal year, a defense contractor is caught billing Porsches, Bentleys and other luxury costs to the Pentagon, a former contractor will pay a $50,000 fine for SDVOSB fraud, and more.

  • Government procurement thought leader Jennifer Schaus offers a look at characteristics that will help contractors be successful in the highly competitive market of government contracting. [American City & Country]
  • The Navy is keeping a close eye on its current access card program for vendors and contractors to get on base. [Federal News Radio]
  • It’s good to think about worst case scenarios: four ways to avoid suspension or debarment on federal contracts. [Construction DIVE]
  • A defense contractor billed luxury cars, million-dollar salaries and secret guns to the Pentagon according to a recent audit. [Government Executive]
  • A a former contractor was sentenced to three years probation and is forced to pay a $50,000 fine stemming from a “straw man” scheme to obtain SDVOSB contracts. [Dayton Daily News]
  • A San Diego defense contractor pleased guilty to a conflict of interest charge for engaging in projects overseen by a Navy official who had given him and his company personal loans totaling more than $30,000. [Times of San Diego]
  • A Department of Labor investigation led to the discovery that a Minnesota company failed to pay prevailing wages to its employees working on a U.S. Housing and Urban Development project. [Business Management]