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2 Arkansans accused of false disabled-vet contractor allegations

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cve-badgeTwo men who operated DAV Construction in North Little Rock for several years were due in court this week on allegations they falsely claimed the company was owned by a service-disabled veteran to collect more than $15.5 million in federal contracts.

The indictment alleges that the construction company “was a pass-through and/or front company.”

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported in August 2015 that agents from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General raided the heating-and-air business at 5440 Northshore Drive and carted away a van-load of boxes.

At the time, Ross Alan Hope, president of Powers of Arkansas — which he said subcontracted with the construction company and shared office space with it — called the raid a “total surprise.”

Also on that day, Aug. 19, federal agents executed a search warrant at Kullander Construction at 7820 Cantrell Road in Little Rock — a nondescript building close to a veterinary clinic and a tire store near the Foxcroft neighborhood.

This month, a federal grand jury indicted Hope, 56, and Mikel Kullander, also 56, the vice president of both the Little Rock company and DAV Construction, on a charge of of conspiracy to defraud and commit major fraud against the United States.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2016/dec/18/2-accused-of-false-disabled-vet-claim-2/

Most franchise agreements prevent veteran-owned businesses from becoming verified by VA

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CVE logoThe U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has issued a fact sheet on the impact of business franchise agreements on the verification process for veteran-owned small businesses.  “Most franchise agreements seek to maintain control of the company in a manner which prevents the Veteran from making decisions concerning day-to-day operations and the overall direction of the company,” notes the VA, thus disqualifying the franchise owner from qualification under the VA’s verification standards.

“Franchises are not automatically excluded from applying for verification,” according to the VA fact sheet, but “generally, franchises’ business documents contain provisions which do not allow the Veteran or service-disabled Veteran owner complete authority in managing and controlling critical elements of the firm.”

In order to be verified as a veteran-owned small business (VOSB) by the VA’s Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE), a business must be both owned and controlled by one or more veterans.  Control means both the day-to-day management and long-term decision making authority for the VOSB, according to 38 CFR § 74.4(a).

While the CVE does not have an official definition for what a franchise is, CVE’s policy is to evaluate franchises no differently than any other company seeking verification.  However, the VA fact sheet is straightforward as to the probable outcome of its review of a franchise: “To the extent the franchise agreement does not impose restrictions on the Veteran owner’s ability to manage and control the franchise, the franchisee may be found eligible. However, that is not usually the case.”

To review the entire text of the VA’s fact sheet on franchises, use this link: http://www.va.gov/osdbu/docs/factsheetFranchisesVeteransFirstContractingProgram.pdf

 

VA’s small business program still faces ‘serious problems’

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Despite improvements to its verification process and customer service, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) remains behind in efforts to improve its program for helping veteran-owned small businesses.

Rep. Richard Hanna statement 11.04.2015Testifying before a joint House subcommittee hearing Nov. 4, Tom Leney, executive director of the VA’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, shared a status update on what’s been done to address problems with the Veterans First contracting program —but lawmakers were critical of the amount of progress that’s been made since the last report.

“VA has made substantial progress in improving the verification program since the last [Government Accountability Office] report of 2013,” Leney said. “In February 2015, GAO began its newest audit of the program. In short, by the end of [fiscal] 2015, applications were being processed within the regulatory time frame 99.8 percent of the time with an approval rate of 94 percent. Initial applications were processed in an average of 41 days, well below the regulatory target of 60 days.”

VA has also started conducting post-verification audits to monitor ongoing compliance, Leney said, and the Center for Veterans Enterprise has established a process for responding to fraud allegations and conducting investigations.

Keep reading this article at: http://federalnewsradio.com/hearingsoversight/2015/11/vas-small-business-program-still-faces-serious-problems/

Reverification process is not as simple as advertised for veteran-owned firms

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The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans First Contracting Program continues to attract more and more veteran-owned small businesses (VOSBs) and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs).

CVE badgeIndeed, the ability to gain access to VA contracts set aside for VOSBs and SDVOSBs remains an incredibly popular tool among small businesses in the veteran contracting community. Much to the dismay of many potentially eligible firms, the process of applying to the VA, Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) to be verified as an eligible VOSB or SDVOSB is still not a cakewalk, and for good reason.

The VA has a legitimate interest in ensuring that VOSB and SDVOSB set-aside contracts are awarded to firms that are eligible to participate in the Veterans First Contracting Program, and eliminating fraud and abuse requires that VOSBs and SDVOSBs be thoroughly vetted by CVE.

Nevertheless, previously-verified VOSBs and SDVOSBs, i.e., firms that have already undergone a complete CVE examination, are finding CVE’s reverification process to be no less cumbersome than the first go-around.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/the-cve-reverification-process-is-not-45973/

SDVOSB Verification Contractor eliminated for ‘organizational conflict of interest’

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An incumbent contractor performing VA CVE SDVOSB verification functions was ineligible to be be re-awarded an order for those services because of an unmitigated organizational conflict of interest.

In a recent decision, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims upheld the VA’s decision to cancel the award to the incumbent contractor and exclude that contractor from the follow-on order.

The Court’s decision in Monterey Consultants, Inc. v. United States, No. 14-1164C (2015) involved a VA RFQ for CVE support functions.  Those functions included supporting the CVE’s SDVOSB and VOSB verification processing.

The verification functions in question had been performed by Monterey Consultants, Inc. under a VA BPA.  Under its BPA, Monterey did work under a variety of call orders, including processing and verification services for CVE.  Monterey also provided support for the VA OSDBU’s acquisition efforts.

The RFQ included a specific section covering OCIs.  In relevant part, that section stated that “Contractors performing on other contracts in support of Verification shall be presumed to have an OCI with respect to this contract and are ineligible to quote on this requirement, due to the integrated nature of work perform[ed] under this solicitation and existing contracts.”

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/u-s-court-of-federal-claims/va-cve-sdvosb-verification-contractor-eliminated-for-oci/

Case closed: Court denies protest over VA contract to verify veteran small businesses

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Veteran community, rejoice: It appears the legal wrangling about who should support the Department of Veterans Affairs program to verify veteran-owned small businesses is over.

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims denied a protest from Monterey Consultants Inc. claiming the VA improperly revoked its contract to manage the Center for Veterans Enterprise in November.

The VA instead awarded the work to another company, Loch Harbour Group in Alexandria after Loch Harbour filed a protest, saying Monterey had a conflict of interest because it had access to documents from other VA work that helped it to win. That was fair move by the VA, the court decided.

This was the final legal avenue available to Monterey to overturn the VA’s decision, meaning the issue can finally be put to rest after more than a year of bizarre twists since December 2013, when the VA ended the old contract with Alexandria-based Ardelle Associates and awarded two contracts to Monterey.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/fedbiz_daily/2015/04/case-closed-ourt-denies-protest-over-va-contract.html

VA holding webinars on VOSB verification process

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The Veterans Administration’s Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) is hosting training for interested Service-Disabled Veteran Owned and Veteran Owned Small Businesses on different aspects of the verification process.

VA sealAt the conclusion of these training sessions, CVE will host a Town Hall on the Verification Program to solicit feedback from participants.

The two featured webinars are:

  • Pre-Application Brief Webinar: Designed for firms interested in knowing more about CVE’s Veteran’s First Program and the Verification Process.   Dates Conducted: Last Tuesday of the month (starting March 2015).
  • Reverification Training Webinars: Designed for firms whose verification status is set to expire.  CVE encourages firms to participate in BOTH training sessions for the most comprehensive re-verification overview. Dates Conducted: Part 1: Re-verification Overview – 1st Tuesday of the month; Part 2: Uploading Documents – 3rd Tuesday of the month.

The times and schedule for the next webinars are:

CVE Schedule

Participation in all webinar/town hall online events is voluntary. If you would like more information, would like to register, or are unable to attend during your firm’s scheduled expiration month, please contact CVE via email at VAOSDBU.CVEPRE-APPBriefs@va.gov.  In your correspondence, please include your business name, DUNS number, your firm’s expiration date (if you have it), and what month you are interested in attending.

 

Done deal? VA could finally have a contractor to help verify veteran-owned small businesses

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It appears the Department of Veterans Affairs will move forward with a new contract supporting its program for verifying veteran-owned small businesses, more than a year after the VA ended the old contract and following a number of bizarre delays spurred by legal and regulatory wrangling.

CVE logoThe Small Business Administration has determined that Loch Harbour Group in Alexandria does indeed qualify to perform the work as a small business, according to the company’s attorney in the matter. That determination came after the VA filed a size protest that could have prevented the contractor from landing the work.

“It was a lot of work, on both sides, but it appears that the issues between Loch Harbour and the government have finally been resolved and they can move forward working together to do the important work of verification,” which is required to bid on work set aside by the VA, said Lee Doughterty, a principal at the Vienna office of law firm Offit Kurman who represents Loch Harbour.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/fedbiz_daily/2014/12/done-deal-va-could-finally-have-a-contractor-to.html

VA demands review of company’s small business status, days after awarding it a contract

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Days after the Department of Veterans Affairs awarded a contract to manage its verification program for veteran-owned small businesses, it’s questioning the winner’s own status as a small business.

The VA filed a size protest with the Small Business Administration against Loch Harbour Group Inc. of Alexandria, less than a week after awarding the company a $39.9 million contract to manage the VA’s Center for Veterans Enterprise, said Lee Doughterty, a principal at the Vienna office of law firm Offit Kurman who represents Loch Harbour.

That contract, which was set aside for veteran-owned small businesses and involves processing contractor applications to be verified as veteran-owned, was originally awarded to Monterey Consultants Inc. of Dayton, Ohio. The VA terminated the Monterey award in November, opting to take corrective action in response to a protest filed by Loch Harbour in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

“It is a terrible tactical move,” said Dougherty, who added that Loch Harbour was deemed qualified to compete for the work during the contract evaluation process. “The retaliation taken by the program and contracting officer is absolutely inappropriate and a gross violation.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/fedbiz_daily/2014/12/va-demands-review-of-companys-small-business.html?page=all

VA awards new veteran-owned small business program management contract — spurring another lawsuit

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Spurred by a protest in a federal court, the Department of Veteran Affairs picked a new company to manage the process of getting veteran-owned small businesses verified. The result? Another lawsuit from the prior winner that saw its contract terminated.

It’s the latest in something of a contracting debacle for the department, which has left the management of its Center for Veterans Enterprise in a state of flux for more than a year.

The VA decided to award to the $39.9 million contract to manage its Center for Veterans Enterprise to Loch Harbour Group Inc. of Alexandria. The bulk of that work is for processing contractor applications to be verified as veteran-owned, which in turn allows them to be able to compete for work set aside by the VA. That contract was originally awarded to Monterey Consultants Inc. of Dayton, Ohio, but terminated in November when the VA opted to take corrective action in response to a protest filed by Loch Harbour in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/fedbiz_daily/2014/12/va-awards-new-veteran-owned-small-business-program.html?page=all

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