A large business has agreed to pay $1.1 million to resolve allegations that it created a “front company” to be awarded a SDVOSB set-aside contract–and then served as a “pass through” by performing the work itself.
In addition to the $1.1 million penalty agreed to by the large contractor, the putative SDVOSB has agreed to pay the government $50,000, plus five annual contingency payments equal to one percent of its total annual revenues.
A California man faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to 8(a) fraud charges.
According to a Department of Justice press release, Wesley Burnett admitted that his non-8(a) companies performed all of the work required under various 8(a) set-aside contracts. And if the pass-through scheme wasn’t enough, Burnett also admitted to falsely self-certifying his companies as SDVOSBs and SDBs, resulting in additional unjustified contract awards.
The co-owner of a Missouri construction company faces the likelihood of 51 months in jail after pleading guilty to SDVOSB fraud charges.
According to a Department of Justice Press release, Michael Parker admitted that he and his father, Warren Parker, falsely claimed that Warren was a service-disabled veteran in order to receive more than $7 million in SDVOSB contracts.
A Nebraska man has pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering charges stemming from a SDVOSB “rent-a-vet” scheme under which an ineligible business received 45 SDVOSB contracts.
According to a Department of Justice press release, the man faces up to 24 months in prison and financial penalties. He and his companies also have been suspended from government contracting and face the likelihood of debarment.
The VA failed to verify the accuracy of a contractor’s representation that it was a veteran-owned small business, according to a new report issued by the VA’s Office of Inspector General.
According to the VA OIG, the VA failed to verify the claim of Westar Development Company, LLC to be a VOSB–and “[t]he evidence does not support a finding that Westar is or ever has been a Veteran-Owned Small Business.” The VA’s failure to verify Westar’s VOSB status is just one of many serious flaws identified by the VA OIG in its audit of the award of a major VA lease to Westar.
A New Jersey woman has been arrested and charged with procurement fraud for allegedly falsely certifying that her company was a SDVOSB.
According to a Department of Justice press release, Miriam Friedman falsely claimed that her father-in-law, a retired veteran, owned and operated the business. According to the DOJ, Friedman’s father-in-law not only had minimal involvement in the business, but is not service-disabled.
The government’s use of two separate SDVOSB programs–with differing rules and requirements–has caused widespread confusion among the very veterans the programs were designed to assist.
Yesterday, I joined Francis Rose of Federal News Radio for a conversation about the government’s two SDVOSB programs. You can download my audio segment on the Federal News Radio website, and catch Francis every weekday from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. Eastern on Federal News Radio.