The head of the Small Business Administration today said the agency has cracked down on companies posing as if they were owned by service-disabled veterans, a scheme uncovered by a recent investigation.
The Government Accountability Office exposed fraud in several of SBA’s small-business programs, including the program that sets aside contracts for small companies owned by service-disabled veterans.
GAO said at least 10 fake service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses had swindled roughly $100 million from SBA’s set-aside contracts. For example, one company wasn’t owned by a service-disabled veteran, and another subcontracted all of its work to a large foreign company, GAO said in November.
SBA Administrator Karen Mills today said SBA has investigated the 10 companies and is looking to prosecute them. For other imposters, Mills said SBA will be more aggressive in suspending and debarring companies from receiving federal contracts.
– by Matthew Weigelt – Apr 21, 2010 – Federal Computer Week
