Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

Defense agencies continue awarding contracts to suspended firms, report finds

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At least nine major contractors, working primarily for defense-related agencies, have benefited from waivers under a 1981 law that allows federal officials to override the firms’ suspensions for such misconduct as fraud, bribery and theft.

That’s according to a new study of 22 contract decisions released this week by Bloomberg Government. Using a Freedom of Information Act request filed with the General Services Administration, the publication also found that some agencies had failed to forward the required documentation on the waivers to GSA.

Such household names as IBM, BP and Boeing have benefited from the law, wrote reporter Sam Skolnik.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.govexec.com/contracting/2018/08/defense-agencies-continue-awarding-contracts-suspended-firms-report-finds/150424

4 ways to avoid suspension or debarment on federal contracts

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The U.S. government appropriated $120 billion for federal construction spending in 2017, covering a range of projects from the construction of a new Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters to building agricultural research facilities, according to the Associated General Contractors of America. President Donald Trump’s 2018 budget proposal, even with its cuts to key federal spending programs and new funds for a U.S.–Mexico border wall, calls for roughly the same level of investment.

Because of the potential for a big payoff, some companies have elected to become experts in the federal contracting field, making it the focal point of their business plans. Other contractors, like international design, engineering and construction firm AECOM, have set up specialized business units to take advantage of government contracting opportunities.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.constructiondive.com/news/the-dotted-line-4-ways-to-avoid-suspension-or-debarment-on-federal-contrac/448789/

 

Agencies talked more, punished less in 2015

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Government contractors shouldn’t be celebrating that the number of suspensions and debarments dropped in fiscal 2015.

While it’s good news that agencies used a tool that many procurement attorneys call “capital punishment for contractors” slightly less last year, what really stands out in the annual report from the Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee is why the numbers went down.

Agency use of suspension and debarment
Year Suspensions Proposed debarments Debarments
2015 918 2,196 1,873
2014 1,009 2,241 1,929
2013 887 2,229 1,696

Source: Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee’s fiscal 2015 report to Congress.

The real telling number is the 30 percent increase in the use of “show cause” or investigative letters as well as a 25 percent increase in the use of administrative agreements.

Keep reading this article at: http://federalnewsradio.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2016/07/agencies-talked-punished-less-2015/

These are nervous times for contractors

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US DoD logoSpeaking to a room of government contractors recently, Defense Department officials insisted that there is no witch-hunt.

Contrary to industry perception, government overseers are not hammers looking for nails, said Deputy General Counsel for Contractor Responsibility at the Department of the Air Force, Rodney A. Grandon.

Grandon made a case that contractor policing is changing. The emphasis is not on trying to rack up the numbers of suspensions and debarments, he said, but on working preemptively with companies to make sure they have vigorous ethics and compliance programs.

“The focus today is no longer on numbers. The focus today is on contractor responsibility,” he told a federal procurement conference last month in McLean, Virginia, organized by the consulting firm BDO USA.

It is a fact of life that misconduct will occur, so the government is paying more attention to what companies are doing to prevent and respond in such situations, said Grandon. He commended federal contractors that have “invested in very robust advocacy and compliance programs.” The government counts on companies to self-police, he said. “Contractors must have in place procedures and willingness to engage government to take immediate steps when misconduct occurs. Our role is to buy down the risk for our acquisition community so they don’t have to worry that the contractor they’re dealing with has a lack of integrity or past performance problems.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=2172

Despite bid-rigging and kick-backs, firm reincarnates itself to receive contracts in both NC and SC

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A newly formed highway construction company has landed more than $27 million in new government projects across the Carolinas despite its deep ties to a discredited North Carolina paving firm barred from bidding on state contracts.

NCDOTAn Associated Press review shows Lynches River Contracting sprang into existence after Carl “Drew” Boggs pleaded guilty in August 2014 in a bid-rigging and kickback scheme involving $88 million in highway projects for his company, Boggs Paving. By court orders, Boggs Paving is barred from bidding on contracts as are its affiliates, companies with interlocking management, and those with a “common use of employees.”

Nevertheless, Boggs’ brother — and a co-owner of the barred company — David “Chris” Boggs signed paperwork last September creating Lynches River at the address of an existing Boggs Paving affiliate. He then turned ownership over to two trusts the brothers established to benefit their children. The new company also named Boggs Paving managers as its president and vice president.

SCDOTThe setup means Boggs Paving “can essentially continue to generate economic wealth for their families, which indirectly benefits the debarred wrongdoers,” South Carolina Inspector General Patrick Maley wrote in a report Thursday. Maley said the situation raised serious concerns but appeared to be legal, and he recommended new regulations to prevent similar situations in the future.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.oaoa.com/news/government/article_85ac2c31-3bff-5cf5-bef9-ec1657c1afc5.html

SBA: White House focus, SES visibility help agencies meet small business goals

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The government’s success in meeting mandatory small business contracting goals two years running is due largely to White House focus and new requirements that program managers in the Senior Executive Service pay greater attention to the acquisition process, the Obama administration’s small-business development chief said on Tuesday.

SBA logo smallMany call set-asides for small business “not a handout but a hand-up, but I say it’s a matter of survival for the federal government as a whole,” said John Shoraka, associate administrator of government contracting and business development at the Small Business Administration (SBA). He spoke to contractors gathered for American Express OPEN’s all-day summit with agency acquisition officials working with small businesses that are women- or minority owned or economically disadvantaged.

Outlining the government’s efforts to institutionalize the success of meeting the goal of steering 23 percent of contract dollars to small business, Shoraka said, “I’ve told my staff I could write a book saying that America’s secret weapon is small business procurement — when small business is engaged, the industrial base is preserved. It’s win-win, because companies hire employees, which has impact on the economy.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2015/08/white-house-focus-ses-visibility-help-agencies-meet-small-business-goals/119043

Military contractor banned over claims of sexual exploitation

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Navy logoThe U.S. Navy banned a longtime military contractor this week — two years after authorities were alerted to problems and three months after the Virginia Board of Medicine accused the company’s president of using drugs, alcohol and macabre medical procedures to sexually exploit personnel in his classes.

In March, the board suspended the medical license of John Hagmann, president of Deployment Medicine International, concluding that he had used students “for personal gain and sexual gratification.”

The board found that while teaching battlefield medicine in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and the United Kingdom, Hagmann allegedly conducted unnecessary and invasive procedures. It also concluded that he had directed students to drink large quantities of alcohol, injected them with the hallucinogen ketamine and other drugs, and conducted “shock labs,” which involved taking blood from students, monitoring them for shock and then transfusing the blood back into them.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.stripes.com/news/us/military-contractor-banned-over-claims-of-sexual-exploitation-1.351977

Contractor alert: Suspensions and debarments keep climbing

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The 2014 numbers are in – and they confirm that Federal marketplace remains volatile for government contractors.

Suspensions - FY 2010-2014

Debarments - FY2010-2014

According to the Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee (ISDC), Federal agencies saw an uptick of about 14% in suspension and debarment proceedings.  Such exclusion proceedings remain among the chief tactics for combating alleged instances of fraud and misconduct in government contracting.  Overall, the ISDC reports that debarment actions rose from 1,696 in 2013 to 1,929 debarment actions in 2014.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=388574

SDVOSB fraud: Guilty plea In “rent-a-vet” case

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A Nebraska man has pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering charges stemming from a SDVOSB “rent-a-vet” scheme under which an ineligible business received 45 SDVOSB contracts.

According to a Department of Justice press release, the man faces up to 24 months in prison and financial penalties.  He and his companies also have been suspended from government contracting and face the likelihood of debarment.

 The DOJ press release alleges that beginning in 2007, Ram Hingorani and his companies, Midwest Contracting Inc. and Midwest Paving Inc., engaged in SDVOSB fraud.  According to the press release, Hingorani used the service disabled status of a business partner, Ronald Waugh, to qualify MCI as a SDVOSB.  However, an investigation “revealed MCI was a pass-through and/or front company for Hingorani’s other businesses and that Waugh was simply a figurehead or ‘rent-a-vet’ who was being used for his SDV status.”

The government’s investigation concluded that Hingorani, a non-SDV, controlled MCI and caused MCI to falsely self-certify as a SDVOSB.  As a result of the fraudulent self-certifications, MCI was awarded 45 set-aside and sole source contracts worth approximately $23.5 million.

Hingorani faces a prison term of up to 24 months, as well as financial penalties.  Hingorani and his companies are currently suspended and face the prospect of debarment.  Hingorani’s SDV business partner, Waugh, was initially charged in the case as well, but the government has agreed to drop those charges.

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/debarment-and-penalties/sdvosb-fraud-guilty-plea-in-rent-a-vet-case/

 

Agencies get tougher on misbehaving contractors

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Federal agencies are strengthening programs to find and punish unethical contractors, and the efforts may have paid off in increased suspension and debarment activity, according to a new watchdog report.

Governmentwide suspensions and debarments have increased from 1,836 in fiscal 2009 to 4,812 in fiscal 2013, the Government Accountability Office reported (GAO-14-513). And at six agencies that had minimal suspension and debarment activity but made changes to staffing, guidance and the case referral process as recommended by GAO in 2011, the increase was even more dramatic. These agencies went from a total of 19 suspension and debarment actions in fiscal 2009 to a collective 271 actions in fiscal 2013.

The six agencies GAO studied — the Commerce, Health and Human Services, Justice, State and Treasury departments and the Federal Emergency Management Agency — all saw a big jump in their suspension and debarment activity in fiscal 2011, the year they began to address GAO’s recommendations for successful programs. The Justice Department, for instance, went from five actions in fiscal 2010 to 50 in fiscal 2011. Though all six agencies made improvements in the same three general areas GAO pinpointed — “a suspension and debarment program with dedicated staff, detailed policies and procedures, and practices that encourage an active referral process” — they emphasized different reasons for their increased activity level, the report said.

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