News

On January 25, 2024, Eric S. Smith, 54, currently of Bristol, Virginia, and Landon Chester, 36, currently of Johnson City, Tennessee, entered guilty pleas to conspiracy to commit bribery and honest services wire fraud before the Honorable Clifton L. Corker.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont announced that Andrew Chaves, 24, of Washington, D.C., was arraigned yesterday in the United States District Court for the District of Vermont. A federal grand jury sitting in Burlington, Vermont returned a one-count indictment on January 18, 2024, alleging that Chaves retained and concealed a stolen U.S. Forest Service vehicle.

A company located in Chantilly has agreed to pay $1.75 million to settle civil fraud allegations that it and its subsidiaries improperly obtained government contracts that were set-aside for small businesses.

London Bridge Trading Company, Ltd. has agreed to pay nearly $2.1 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that it failed to comply with the requirements of the Buy American Act, Trade Agreements Act, and Berry Amendment when selling textile-based products to the Department of Defense.

The General Services Administration Office of Inspector General is aware of scams involving disguised or “spoofed” email addresses that target small businesses and large businesses, including federal contractors registered in SAM.gov.

Defendant used government fuel card to make more than $33,000 worth of unauthorized private gasoline purchases.

Jonathan Walker falsely claimed his business was a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Shawn Lee Karr, age 37, of Howe, Texas, was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day in prison for possession of stolen firearms.

The United States Attorney’s Offices for the District of Rhode Island and the Southern District of Texas have resolved a civil investigation into RPS Group, Inc, a global professional services firm, that will result in a recovery of over $465,000.

A Converse, Texas, man and six alleged co-conspirators were arrested this week on criminal charges related to their alleged conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Verizon Business Network Services LLC, of Ashburn, Virginia, has agreed to pay $4,091,317 to resolve False Claims Act allegations that it failed to completely satisfy certain cybersecurity controls in connection with an information technology service provided to federal agencies.

Three members of a San Antonio family pleaded guilty in federal court to charges related to government contracts fraud for services at U.S. Army medical facilities.

The U.S. General Services Administration Office of Inspector General is committed to supporting whistleblowers and ensuring that they are protected from retaliation once they make a protected disclosure.

Foresee Results, Inc. and Verint Americas, Inc. have agreed to pay $7 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by falsely representing to the United States that they used the methodology of the American Customer Satisfaction Index to measure customer satisfaction.

OMNI Business Systems, Inc., located in Alexandria, VA, has agreed to pay $80,944 to settle a civil fraud case alleging that OMNI violated the Trade Agreements Act and the False Claims Act by fraudulently misrepresenting the country of origin for certain products on federal supply schedules.

Milton Boutte was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay $1,210,000 in restitution.

A Cook County, Illinois, man was arraigned after the Illinois Attorney General’s office alleged he fraudulently used a government-issued fuel credit card to purchase more than $10,500 in fuel for personal use.

A Florida resident and dual citizen of the United States and Turkey pleaded guilty yesterday in the District of New Jersey to running an extensive operation over many years to traffic in fraudulent and counterfeit Cisco networking equipment.

A former U.S. Department of the Army employee made his initial appearance in court for allegedly stealing over $800,000 in government property,

A Grand Prairie, Texas, man was sentenced to 4 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $1.15 million in restitution for lying to the federal government about where his company’s products were manufactured.

The four remaining defendants in the fraud case involving former Air Force civilian employee Keith Seguin were sentenced in a federal court in San Antonio, Texas.

The Office of Inspector General for the General Services Administration (GSA) issued a report concluding that GSA’s transformational contract pricing pilot is plagued with inaccurate and unreliable data.

An Uxbridge, Massachusetts, man pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to his role in a conspiracy to defraud the government of thousands of dollars from 2014 to 2018.

A San Antonio, Texas, man was sentenced in a federal court to 188 months in prison for wire fraud and tax fraud.

Adobe Inc. has agreed to pay $3 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that it made payments in violation of the Anti-Kickback Act in return for influence over the sale of Adobe software to the federal government.

A federal grand jury in San Antonio, Texas, returned an indictment charging four members of a San Antonio family with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.

A Maryland woman pleaded guilty in Boston to her role in a conspiracy to defraud the government of thousands of dollars.

A former General Services Administration official was sentenced to 30 months in prison for accepting bribes in exchange for directing government procurement contracts to government contractors.

A man from Tampa, Florida was sentenced to 3 years and 8 months in federal prison for access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. The court also ordered the forfeiture of $40,039.67, which represents the proceeds he obtained from these offenses.

Darius Lopez (27, Tampa) was sentenced to 3 years and 10 months in federal prison for access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.

The owner of several companies in the construction industry was sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay a $1.75 million fine for his role in a long-running scheme to defraud the United States.

U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton sentenced two brothers, Andy Teruel Colina (25, Miami) and Adrian Teruel (31, Orlando), to federal prison terms.

A Grand Prairie man pleaded guilty to lying to the federal government about where his company’s products were manufactured.

Two former employees of the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs entered guilty pleas in a $2.9 million embezzlement scheme.

Honeywell International Inc., headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, has agreed to pay $3.35 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by selling defective material for bullet proof vests used by law enforcement officers.

Terry Roe of Burlington, ND, the final defendant to be sentenced in a wide-ranging conspiracy that developed, manufactured, and imported $20 million worth of Chinese-made counterfeit U.S. military uniforms and gear that were passed off as genuine American-made products to the U.S. military was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison.

A Brooklyn, NY, clothing and goods wholesaler who directed the development, manufacture, and importation of $20 million worth of Chinese-made counterfeit U.S. military uniforms and gear that were passed off as genuine American-made products has been sentenced to 40 months in federal prison and ordered to forfeit the $20 million in proceeds that he got from the sale of the counterfeit goods.

David Joseph Bolduc, Jr., 61, of Herndon, Virginia, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in a government contract fraud scheme. Bolduc and QuantaDyn bribed a government official to obtain confidential government information and secure government contracts.

Federal Agencies and Taxpayers at Risk of Overpaying for Goods and Services

A Parkville, Missouri, man who was charged in two federal cases was sentenced in federal court for his role in a $335 million scheme to defraud federal programs that award contracts to firms owned by minorities, veterans, and service-disabled veterans, and in a separate case to filing false tax returns that cheated the government out of more than $615,000 in taxes owed.

A Tomah, Wisconsin, man has been charged in a 12-count indictment that alleges he engaged in a scheme to defraud the United States and to obtain money by making false representations.  

A Monmouth County, New Jersey, company will pay $7.6 million under a consent judgement for its role in making false statements to obtain government contracts that were set aside for businesses owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans.

Read Inspector General Ochoa's statement on National Whistleblower Appreciation Day.

United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the arrest and indictment of Darius Lopez (27, Tampa) charging him with one count of access device fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

A former employee of the U.S. General Services Administration was sentenced in federal court in Boston for receiving illegal gratuity.

A Middlesex County, New Jersey, gas station manager admitted making approximately $78,000 in fraudulent fuel charges using account information belonging to more than 17 gas station customers, including Amtrak.

A federal grand jury in the District of New Jersey returned an indictment charging a resident of Florida with running a massive operation over many years to traffic in fraudulent and counterfeit Cisco networking equipment with an estimated retail value of over $1 billion.

An Uxbridge, Massachusetts, man has agreed to plead guilty to his role in a conspiracy to defraud the government of thousands of dollars.

A federal jury in San Antonio, Texas, convicted the owner of several companies in the construction industry for his role in a long-running scheme to defraud the United States.

A woman from Star, Idaho, was sentenced to 14 months in federal prison for falsely claiming that a business she controlled qualified as a service-disabled veteran-owned small business.

A federal grand jury convicted Milton Boutte, 77, of Moriarty, New Mexico, of conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

A General Services Administration Contracting Official pleaded guilty to accepting bribes.

Jared Newman of Montrose, Colorado, was sentenced to 55 months in federal prison for wire fraud.

Cape Henry Associates (Cape Henry), located in Virginia Beach, has agreed to pay $425,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by failing to inform contracting officers of the company’s organizational conflicts of interest in connection with the award and performance of task orders on government contracts.

A Weatherby Lake, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court for falsely claiming ownership in a firm that fraudulently received hundreds of millions of dollars in government contracts set aside for service-disabled veterans and certified minorities.

Hensel Phelps Construction Company, a large construction company headquartered in Greeley, Colorado, has agreed to pay $2,804,110 to resolve allegations that it improperly manipulated a federal subcontract designated for a business owned and operated by a service-disabled veteran.

Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Kentey Ramone Fielder, age 42, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced in federal court in Yakima, Washington, to 40 months in federal prison, followed by a 3-year term of supervised release.

A California man was convicted on six counts related to the theft of over $23 million dollars from the U.S. Department of Defense, money destined for one of its jet fuel suppliers.

A Chesapeake woman pleaded guilty today to bribing a government official.

A Star, Idaho woman pleaded guilty to making a false statement in connection with government contracts.