Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Western District of Texas
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Federal Judge in San Antonio Accepts Guilty Plea and Sentences QuantaDyn Corporation to Pay Millions of Dollars in Fines and Restitution for Bribery and Government Contract Fraud Scheme
In San Antonio today, an Ashburn, VA-based software engineering company called QuantaDyn Corporation (QuantaDyn) entered a guilty plea to a federal charge in connection with a bribery and government contract fraud scheme that spanned more than a decade and impacted contract awards worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In addition, the corporation has agreed to pay a $6.3 million fine and more than $37 million in restitution.
That announcement was made today by U.S. Attorney John F. Bash; Special Agent in Charge Jamie Willemin of the General Services Administration—Office of the Inspector General (GSA-OIG), Greater Southwest and Rocky Mountain Investigations Division; Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Goss of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Houston Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Michael Mentavlos of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southwest Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Ray Rayos of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, Southwestern Fraud Field Office (USACID); and, Special Agent in Charge Blair Holmstrand of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI), Procurement Fraud Detachment 3 in San Antonio.
William T. Dunn, Jr., the majority owner, President and Chief Executive Officer for QuantaDyn, appeared before U.S. District Judge Fred Biery and entered a guilty plea on behalf of the corporation to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In addition to the fines and restitution, Judge Biery assessed a money judgment forfeiture against the corporation in the amount of $22,834,526.31 and forfeiture of seized assets in the amount of $7,099,863.77. Judge Biery also placed QuantaDyn on probation for five years.
“I am proud that our team and our law-enforcement partners were able to obtain justice for the American taxpayer in this case. We will not tolerate fraud against important federal programs,” stated U.S. Attorney Bash.
In October 2019, a federal grand jury in San Antonio returned an indictment against QuantaDyn, one of its owners, Herndon, VA, resident David Joseph Bolduc, Jr.; San Antonio resident Keith Alan Seguin; and, Atlanta, GA, area resident Rubens Wilson Fiuza Lima.
The indictment alleges the defendants carried out their contract fraud scheme from 2006 to 2018. Specifically, Bolduc and QuantaDyn paid more than $2.3 million in bribes to Seguin, a civilian employee of the 502 Trainer Development Squadron at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, who was intimately involved in the government contract process. In return, Seguin used his position to steer lucrative government contracts and sub-contracts to QuantaDyn for aircraft and close-air-support training simulators. The indictment further alleges that a portion of the bribe money paid to Seguin was laundered through Fiuza Lima’s business, Impex, Inc., for a ten percent fee.
The three-count indictment charges Bolduc, QuantaDyn, Seguin and Fiuza Lima with one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Upon conviction, Bolduc, Seguin and Fiuza Lima could face terms of imprisonment up to five years for conspiracy to defraud the U.S., up to 20 years for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and up to 20 years for conspiracy to commit money laundering. This case is currently scheduled for jury selection and trial on February 1, 2021, before Judge Biery in San Antonio.
“GSA plays a vital role in the government's ability to procure mission-critical products. Contractors and subcontractors are expected to be honest, transparent, and fair when doing business with the United States. American taxpayers can expect allegations of corrupt business practices to be thoroughly investigated by GSA OIG and its investigative partners to protect the integrity of the procurement process and the mission of our warfighters,” stated GSA-OIG Special Agent in Charge Willemin, Greater Southwest and Rocky Mountain Investigations Division.
“Today's sentencing is a direct result of the excellent partnership between multiple federal agencies and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in combating violations of Federal law,” said IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Goss. “IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to pursue corporations such as QuantaDyn, who illegally target our nation’s tax dollars for personal financial gain by defrauding our government and the United States armed forces.”
“The Defense Criminal Investigative Service will utilize all available resources to pursue allegations of fraud and corruption bearing effect on the DoD and America's warfighters,” stated DCIS Southwest Field Office Special Agent in Charge Mentavlos. “This outcome is an example of the steadfast commitment of DCIS, and our Law Enforcement partners, to ensuring the integrity of the DoD contract process and taxpayer resources.”
“Today’s sentencing represents the success of the US Army CID Major Procurement Fraud Unit and partner agencies in policing and maintaining the integrity of our defense procurement systems,” stated USACID Major Procurement Fraud Unit Special Agent in Charge Rayos.
“The collaboration between GSA-OIG, DCIS, U.S. Army CID, IRS-CI, AFOSI, and the U. S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Texas, has been significant and we are looking forward to seeing the final results of the hard work put forth by all agencies involved,” said AFOSI Special Agent in Charge Holmstrand.
Simultaneous with the corporation entering a guilty plea in the criminal case, the Department of Justice today announced that the United States and QuantaDyn have reached a settlement agreement to resolve civil allegations related to the bribery scheme. QuantaDyn’s agreement to pay $37,757,713.91 in restitution ordered by Judge Biery today will resolve the company’s civil False Claims Act liability for the scheme. Dunn separately paid $500,000 to resolve his personal False Claims Act liability.
“When government contractors pay bribes to military contracting officials to obtain contracts, they prevent both our military and the American taxpayers from receiving products that are procured fairly and objectively and at a reasonable price,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “Today’s settlement demonstrates our continuing commitment to protecting the integrity of the government’s procurement process and ensuring that is untainted by fraud and corruption.”
The GSA-OIG, IRS-CI, DCIS, USACID, and AFOSI continue to investigate this case. Individuals who may have information about this scheme or these defendants are asked to call the GSA-OIG fraud reporting hot line at (800) 424-5210, send an email to [email protected], or go online to www.gsaig.gov and click on the “report FRAUD” link. U. S. Attorney Bash extends his appreciation to the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Eastern District of Virginia, Southern District of Ohio, and Northern District of Georgia for their valuable assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorney William F. Lewis, Jr., Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Porier, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Buie are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacquelyn Christilles and Thomas Parnham are handling the civil case on behalf of the government.
It is important to note that an indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
#####
Source: U.S. Department of Justice press release
