An El Paso, TX federal jury this week convicted a Houston-area businessman on fraud charges for bilking the federal government out of nearly $1.4 million.
Jurors on Tuesday found Thomas Gregory Harris, 55, of Friendswood, Texas, guilty of 16 counts of wire fraud. Harris is the former senior vice president of Luster National Inc., a consulting company specializing in the management of capital improvement projects for government agencies and private sector organizations, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.
Federal prosecutors said that in July 2010, SBA officials approved a joint venture, Tropical Luster Joint Venture, between Luster National Inc. and Tropical Contracting LLC. Officials had previously approved Tropical Contracting as a Section 8(a) program intended to promote business development of companies owned and operated by “socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.”
However, Luster National did not qualify to become a Section 8(a) program.
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