An Idaho contractor has been indicted on federal charges stemming from allegations that she fraudulently lowered her personal net worth in order to enable her company to be certified in the SBA 8(a) Program and the Department of Transportation’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program.
According to a Department of Justice press release, the 8(a) and DBE fraud netted the contractor upwards of $9 million–and the Government wants its money back.
“Guilty.”
That was the verdict Pennsylvania jurors handed down on 26 of 30 charges against Joseph W. Nagle, stemming from what an FBI press release called a 15-year scheme to commit fraud within the DOT’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program. Nagle, the former president, CEO and part-owner of Schuylkill Products Inc. was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the DOT, 11 counts of wire fraud, six counts of mail fraud, and 11 counts of money laundering, among other charges. Nagle faces the possibility of many years in federal prison and millions of dollars in fines and restitution.
Nagle’s crimes, which involved using a small company as a “front” to pass DBE work through to non-DBE concerns, should serve as a warning that small government contractors can face penalties much more severe than a successful SBA size protest for serving as “pass-throughs” to other businesses.