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
U.S. Attorney Sherri A. Lydon states that Phillip Thompson of Augusta, GA was sentenced for conspiracy involving theft of government funds, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, § 371.
The owner of a trucking company who was convicted of paying bribes to rake in more than $20 million from military contracts fought for relief last Wednesday at the 11th Circuit.
According to U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak, from at least 2015 to January 2017, Smith met privately with a vendor on multiple occasions, frequently at Atlanta-area restaurants. During these meetings, Smith and the vendor discussed Atlanta procurement projects, bids, and solicitations. Often at the time of these meetings, the vendor was actively seeking contracts, projects, and work with Atlanta. After most of these meetings, the vendor and Smith met in the restaurant’s bathroom, where the vendor paid Smith approximately $1,000 in cash. In return for the bribe payments, the vendor expected Smith to use his position and power to assist the vendor with contracting/procurement with Atlanta and to furnish the vendor with future benefits and favors when needed.
In the case involving the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), beginning in 2010, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Erves retained three different vendors purportedly to perform maintenance projects for MARTA. From approximately June 2010 to December 2016, Erves had fake invoices prepared on behalf of the three vendors for more than 40 maintenance projects for which no work was performed. Erves then used the false invoices as bases to authorize payments to the three vendors. In many cases, Erves personally approved payments to the vendors knowing that the vendors had not performed any work for MARTA. After receiving payment, the three vendors funneled most of the money they received from MARTA into Erves’s personal bank accounts. Subsequently, Erves used the money deposited into his accounts to pay personal expenses, such as multiple purchases at high-end department stores and the purchase of a Porsche 911. Based on Erves’s authority and representations, MARTA paid the three vendors more than $500,000 for maintenance projects where no work was actually performed.
A former senior manager of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) has been charged with conducting a false invoice scheme that resulted in MARTA paying more than $500,000 for maintenance work that was never performed and for funneling most of the money back into his personal bank accounts.
According to U.S. Attorney John A. Horn, the former MARTA executive, Joseph J. Erves “was entrusted to safeguard the taxpayer funds used to run our public transportation authority, and instead he is charged with stealing a half million dollars to buy a Porsche and other high-end purchases. This is a classic case where a public official’s short-term gain in stealing from taxpayers comes crashing down and ends with criminal charges.”
Michael Allen Braun has been sentenced to 18 months in prison and $126,300 in restitution for “conspiracy to commit theft of honest services and wire fraud” and bribery of a public official.
