News

An employee of a government contractor pleaded guilty today to his involvement in a scheme to overbill a contract administered by the General Services Administration (GSA) by approximately $1.25 million, and solicit and receive kickbacks from a subcontractor in exchange for providing that subcontractor valuable contract modifications.

Cognosante LLC has agreed to pay the United States $18,987,789 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by using unqualified labor and overcharging the United States for services provided to government agencies under two General Services Administration (GSA) contracts, the Justice Department announced today. Cognosante, which is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, provides health care and IT services and solutions to federal agencies.

Orlando, Florida – Edwin Torres Arenas (49, Oviedo) has pleaded guilty to seven counts of stealing government funds. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison on each count. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

MADISON, WIS. -- A federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin, sitting in Madison, has returned the following indictments. You are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

WASHINGTON – Ronnie Simpkins, 68, of Lusby, Maryland, a former government contract officer with the General Services Administration (GSA), was sentenced to a 21-month prison term on a federal bribery charge stemming from a scheme in which he accepted bribes from government contractors from August 2011 to August 2017. Simpkins pled guilty to the charge on December 19, 2019.

Industries for the Blind and Visually Impaired Inc. (IBI) has agreed to pay the United States $1,938,684.09 to resolve allegations that IBI violated the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Act in connection with certain federal contracts set aside to employ blind workers, the Justice Department announced today.

NEWARK, N.J. – A Nigerian national was sentenced today to 36 months in prison for his role in a computer hacking and identity theft scheme that defrauded vendors of nearly $1 million of office products after “phishing” e-mail login information from government employees, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

The Department of Justice announced today that QuantaDyn Corporation (QuantaDyn), headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia, has agreed to resolve civil claims arising from allegations that it engaged in a bribery scheme to steer government contracts for training simulators to the company, as part of a broader settlement that includes a guilty plea by the company. As part of the plea agreement, QuantaDyn has agreed to pay $37,757,713.91 in restitution, which also will resolve the company’s civil False Claims Act liability for the scheme. William T. Dunn Jr., the majority owner, President, and Chief Executive Officer of QuantaDyn, has separately paid $500,000 to resolve his personal False Claims Act liability.

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.

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of 2 counts of Wire Fraud and 1 count of Theft of Government Property was sentenced by Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.