News

On Friday, October 12, 2018, 40 years to the day that President Jimmy Carter signed the Inspector General Act of 1978, the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency will host an event at the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, Georgia, to commemorate the impact of federal Inspectors General.

The owner of two recycling businesses illegally landfilled potentially hazardous electronic waste as part of a scheme to re-sell the materials and avoid paying income taxes, according to his guilty plea in federal court in Chicago.

Arturo Vargas, 55, a businessman from El Paso, Texas, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to participating in a fraudulent scheme to defraud the United States out of millions of dollars through contracts involving the now defunct Big Crow Program Office at Kirtland Air Force Base in Bernalillo County, N.M.

United States Attorney Matthew D. Krueger announced today that Nicholas Rivecca, Sr., of Hartland, Wisconsin, and his company, Sonag Ready Mix, LLC, located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, have agreed to pay $629,732 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by defrauding the United States Department of Transportation’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (“DBE”) program.

A Tennessee man has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for major fraud against the United States. D. Michael Dunavant, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee announced the sentence today.

The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) continues a year-long effort to educate the public about, and commemorate the impact of, the Inspector General Act of 1978 and the work of federal Inspectors General (IG) in the 40 years since passage of the Act. As part of this effort, the IG community will host a series of events this fall across the country.

A former operator of a local construction company, Patriot Company, Inc., was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a “rent-a-vet” scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $13.7 million in federal contracts.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Gregory Ciego, age 35, of Drums, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on August 17, 2018, to a criminal information charging him with theft of government property.

On August 6, 2018, the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Wellco Enterprises, Inc. (Wellco), and Tactical Holdings Operations, Inc. (Tactical Holdings), Vincent Lee Ferguson, 66, of Knoxville, Tennessee, was sentenced by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Judge, to serve 41 months in federal prison for his role in a wire fraud conspiracy.

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Bhaskar Patel, 67, of Windermere, Florida, appeared today in federal district court in Rutland to answer to charges that, while employed by Schneider Electric Building Americas, he unlawfully solicited and accepted $2,536,119.19 in bribes and kickbacks associated with federal energy savings performance contracts (“ESPCs”) issued to Schneider Electric by various federal agencies.

Three Little Rock men pleaded guilty to participating in a fraudulent scheme that generated over $1 million in illicit profits by exploiting a government program designed to help distressed businesses.

Richard C. Davis, the founder and former president and CEO of Michigan-based Second Chance Body Armor, Inc., agreed to resolve claims under the False Claims Act in connection with his role in the sale of defective Zylon bullet-proof vests purchased by the United States for federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies, the Justice Department announced today. Mr. Davis will relinquish his interest in $1.2 million in assets previously frozen by the United States and will pay an additional $125,000 to the United States.

Six defendants have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of stealing expensive cars from dealerships in three states, altering their Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN), and fraudulently obtaining new titles for the cars.

A New York man pleaded guilty today to committing government contracting fraud. According to court documents, Alter Stesel, aka Herman Stesel, aka Randy Stern, aka Henry Shtaiseel, 41, of Brooklyn, was a government contractor based in Brooklyn. Stesel and his company, A1 4 Electronics Inc., were placed in proposed debarment status by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for providing counterfeit goods and for a history of failure to perform or unsatisfactory performance on contracts.

An Athens, Alabama computer store owner has been charged with exploiting a government computer surplus program for his personal benefit. A federal grand jury today returned its indictment of Steven Mays, 50, of Athens, Ala. The indictment alleges that from 2007 to late 2017, Mays engaged in a scheme to defraud “Computers for Learning,” a program administered by the General Services Administration. The CFL program facilitated the transfer of computers and related equipment owned by the federal government but excess to its needs, directly to schools and some educational nonprofit organizations at no cost.

A retired soldier pleaded guilty today to receiving and selling stolen government property that had been initially delivered to at Fort Eustis.

A Missouri man pleaded guilty today to committing fraud to obtain millions of dollars in government contracts, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.

On Wednesday, July 11, 2018, at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) will host an all-day conference to educate the public about the impact of the Inspector General Act of 1978 and the work of federal Inspectors General in the 40 years since passage of the Act. Discussion will feature distinguished speakers including Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa and other Members of Congress, Inspectors General, academics, and others in the oversight community.

United States Attorney Matthew D. Krueger for the Eastern District of Wisconsin announced today that three defendants agreed to plead guilty to an Information charging them with federal crimes related to a long-term fraud scheme led by Brian L. Ganos involving government-funded contracts intended to benefit small businesses.

Today, the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) released its first-ever report of the top management and performance challenges facing multiple federal agencies. For nearly 20 years, individual Inspectors General have created management challenges reports identifying the most critical, systemic problems facing the agencies they oversee. Today’s report marks the first time that the Inspectors General, through CIGIE, have examined these reports from across the federal government to identify and analyze challenges that are common to their agencies.

United States Attorney Matthew D. Krueger for the Eastern District of Wisconsin announced that on April 3, 2018, a federal grand jury returned a twenty-two count Indictment charging three defendants with a 12-year fraud and money laundering scheme involving over $200 million in government-funded contracts intended to benefit small businesses. The Indictment named individuals Brian L. Ganos (age: 57) of Muskego and Mark F. Spindler (age: 56) of Menomonee Falls, and the business Sonag Company, Inc. as defendants. In a related case, Nicholas Rivecca, Sr. (age: 68) of Hartland, agreed to plead guilty to an Information charging him with conspiring to defraud the United States.

Toyobo Co. Ltd. of Japan and its American subsidiary, Toyobo U.S.A. Inc., f/k/a Toyobo America Inc. (collectively, Toyobo), have agreed to pay $66 million to resolve claims under the False Claims Act that they sold defective Zylon fiber used in bullet proof vests that the United States purchased for federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies, the Justice Department announced today.

A Utah man pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering in federal court Tuesday afternoon for his role in a fraud scheme he devised to obtain government construction contracts set aside for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses.

On February 15, 2018, the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Wellco Enterprises, Inc. (Wellco) and Tactical Holdings Operations, Inc. (Tactical Holdings), Vincent Lee Ferguson, 66, of Knoxville, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Wellco’s former Senior Vice President of Sales, Matthew Lee Ferguson, 41, of Geneva, Illinois, and former Director of Marketing and Communications, Kerry Joseph Ferguson, 36, of Houston, Texas, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Timothy A. Garrison, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that former owners of a local construction company, Patriot Company, Inc., have pleaded guilty in federal court to their roles in a “rent-a-vet” scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $13.8 million in federal contracts.

Jeffrey Harrington and Michael Mayer, owners of several defense contracting firms, were each sentenced in federal court today to 15 months in custody for conspiring to commit wire fraud and file false claims, and to making false statements on their federal income tax returns.

Netcracker Technology Corp. (NTC), a global software company serving the telecommunications industry, has agreed to implement enhanced security protocols for software development, implementation, and its other services to clients, many of whom are part of the United States’s critical communications infrastructure, announced Dana Boente, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s National Security Division and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. NTC is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of NEC Corp.

A federal grand jury sitting in Albuquerque, N.M., returned an indictment yesterday charging four men with exploiting the now defunct Big Crow Program Office at Kirtland Air Force Base to perpetuate a multi-million dollar scheme to defraud the United States.

Memphis, TN – After two days of the trial before U.S. District Judge John T. Fowlkes, Jr., the defendant M. Cleve Collins entered a plea of guilty to the indictment charging him with one count of major fraud against the United States. D. Michael Dunavant, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the conviction today.

A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of California returned an indictment yesterday against two individuals for allegedly conspiring to defraud the United States, the Department of Justice announced.