United States Attorney's Office
District of Kansas
October 20, 2015
Missouri Woman Sentenced for Defrauding Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program
KANSAS CITY, KAN. - A Missouri woman was sentenced Tuesday to 20 months in federal prison for defrauding a federal program that set aside contracts for businesses owned by service-disabled veterans, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said. In addition, she was ordered to pay a $30,000 money judgment.
Mary Parker,70, Blue Springs, Mo., pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting wire fraud. In her plea, she admitted she assisted her husband, Warren Parker and her son, Michael J. Parker, in making false claims in order for their company, Silver Star Construction LLC of Blue Springs, Mo., and Stilwell, Kan., to obtain more than $6.7 million in contracts from the Veterans Administration. The contracts were awarded under the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program.
Mary Parker admitted she was responsible for all Silver Star Construction’s finances. She accepted monies on the company’s behalf that were paid from government contracts that were fraudulently obtained. An investigation by federal agents determined that Warren Parker never was classified as a service-disabled veteran by the Veterans Administration or the Department of Defense
Warren K. Parker was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison.
Grissom commended the Small Business Administration's Office of Inspector General; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Criminal Investigation Division and the General Services Administration's Office of Inspector General; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tris Hunt for their work on the case.
