Tag Archives: fraud

Idaho Man Pleads Guilty to HUBZone Fraud Charge

Posted on by

An Idaho man has pleaded guilty to a HUBZone fraud charge.  According to a U.S. Department of Justice press release, last week, Patrick Large, the owner of Quality Tile and Roofing Inc., pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud resulting from a HUBZone scheme.

Large admitted defrauding the government by falsely representing the location of two employees, apparently in order to satisfy the SBA’s “principal office” requirement for HUBZone firms.  Based on Large’s representation, the SBA admitted Quality Tile to the HUBZone program.  Quality Tile subsequently won a HUBZone set-aside contract valued at approximately $220,000.

As part of the guilty plea, Large agreed to pay $150,000 in restitution.  However, he still faces the possibility of additional penalties, including prison time.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 8, 2013.

False SDVOSB Certifications Land New York Man Behind Bars

Posted on by

False SDVOSB certifications have earned a New York man nearly three and a half years in prison.

In May, I brought you the story of John White’s conviction for false SDVOSB certifications, and noted that sentencing was yet to come.  Well, last week the federal judge handed down a sentence, and Mr. White is no longer a free man.

According to a U.S. Department of Justice press release, White was sentenced to 41 months in prison for defrauding the government by falsely claiming to be a service-disabled veteran.  White’s company was awarded three SDVOSB set-aside contracts and one VOSB set-aside contract as a result of the fraud.  When the government began investigating White’s company, White tried to recruit an actual service-disabled veteran to pose as the company’s majority owner.

John White will now have a few years in the Big House to consider the consequences of falsely stealing the honor of our nation’s service-disabled veterans and falsely stealing four contracts intended for those veterans.  If the DOJ has has any sense of irony, it will ship him to a federal facility where genuine SDVOSBs are on-site providing services.

Convictions in Massive DOT DBE Fraud Case Put Spotlight on Illegal Small Business “Pass-Throughs”

Posted on by

“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.

Continue reading →