Amended Bylaws Can’t Rescue Ineligible SDVOSB

The regulations governing the SBA’s service-disabled veteran-owned small business program are clear: to qualify as an SDVOSB, a business must ensure that a service-disabled veteran serves as its highest officer.

The SBA will examine a SDVOSB’s bylaws to see whether the provision is met.  If not, belatedly amending the bylaws won’t save the business’s eligibility for a contract it bid upon before the amendment, as demonstrated by a SDVOSB appeal decision of the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals.

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False SDVOSB Certification Results in Criminal Conviction

In this era of enforcement, lost contracts are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to false certifications of eligibility for the SBA’s and VA’s small business programs.  The story of John White and Mitsubishi Construction Corp. should serve as a dire warning about just how serious the consequences of false certifications can be.

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