A Florida resident has pleaded guilty in an 8(a) Program fraud case that seemingly has it all in terms of small business violations, from affiliation to subcontracting limits.
According to a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, Michael Dunkel has pleaded guilty on charges of major government fraud, and faces the potential of significant prison time when sentencing occurs this fall.
An Alabama-based construction company has agreed to pay more than a million dollars to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by fraudulently representing that it was mentoring a minority-owned small business under the Department of Defense’s mentor-protege program.
The settlement puts to rest the Justice Department’s False Claims Act contention that the contractor used its so-called “protege” as little more than a pass-through entity and failed to provide real mentoring services to the small business.
Two brothers fraudulently misrepresented themselves to be service-disabled veterans and received $13 million in VA SDVOSB set-aside awards, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release.
The brothers, Raymond Testa and Gerald Testa, both of New York, were recently arrested and charged with major wire fraud. If convicted, they face penalties of up to 10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $1 million.
False or incorrect women-owned small business self-certifications may be a significant government-wide problem, according to a recent audit report issued by the NASA Office of Inspector General.
The NASA OIG report states that in a study of sampled awards to self-certified WOSBs, 7 out of 20 awardees, or 35 percent, “may not have met the criteria for a woman-owned small business.” Noting that these firms won nearly $75 million in government business in 2010 alone, the NASA OIG has referred its report to the SBA and GAO, concerned about a “potential Government-wide effect of this condition.” Continue reading
A man who lied about being a service-disabled veteran–and received nearly $6 million in VA SDVOSB set-asides–will not spend a single day in jail.
According to a Department of Justice press release, the man in question, John Witty, was sentenced to a fine, probation, and community service. Yes, Witty’s wallet will be lighter, and maybe there were extenuating circumstances not evident from the press release–but the lack of jail time seems a tad generous.
Two Kentucky-based government contractors and their owners have agreed to pay $6.25 million to settle HUBZone fraud claims, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release.
The costly settlement puts an end to a saga involving DOJ claims of a vacant “principal” office, undisclosed affiliation, and fraudulent statements made to the SBA and and the U.S. Army.
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.