U.S. Attorney's Office
District of Idaho
September 2, 2025
Sanford Federal, Inc. and its owner, Joseph Mandour, agreed to pay fines and restitution to resolve allegations that they fraudulently acquired government contracts by misrepresenting identities and lying about the size of the company and its affiliates.
BOISE – Sanford Federal, Inc. and its owner, Joseph Mandour, agreed to pay $3,100,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act in their acquisition and performance of 49 government contracts across the United States and involving multiple Federal agencies.
The United States alleged that Sanford and Mandour violated the False Claims Act by knowingly misrepresenting the identities of individuals alleged to be employees, using unknown persons and fraudulent credentials to sweeten their contract bids, and misrepresenting Sanford’s size to acquire set-aside contracts in violation of Small Business Administrative rules. The United States also alleged that Sanford and Mandour acquired a service-disabled veteran owned small business set-aside contract and then knowingly violated a limitation on subcontracting that required such contracts to be performed by service-disabled veteran owned small businesses.
“Government contractors are important partners that help us achieve our various government missions. But misrepresentations in bids undermine the integrity of the bid process and deprive legitimate businesses of the opportunity to compete for government contracts,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Justin Whatcott. “We will continue to protect the right of small businesses and service-disabled veteran owned businesses to obtain government contracts without being undermined by fraudulent bid practices.”
“This settlement demonstrates that the VA OIG will actively investigate fraud allegations involving VA contracts that are set aside for service-disabled veterans,” said Special Agent in Charge Dimitriana Nikolov of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Northwest Field Office. “The VA OIG thanks the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their efforts in this case.”
“Lying to the government undermines the trust and integrity essential to fair competition in our country,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Philip C. Mazzella of the Department of Commerce OIG. “If these lies go unchecked, our ability to effectively monitor and operate vital government programs in the United States will be significantly weakened. To hold these bad actors accountable, Commerce OIG along with our federal partners, will continue to aggressively pursue and investigate allegations of false certifications made by government contractors.”
“When unscrupulous individuals manipulate programs intended to support small businesses, they undermine trust, weaken competition, and deny opportunities to honest business owners,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher W. Dillard of the DoD Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Mid-Atlantic Field Office. “DCIS stands with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our investigative law enforcement partners to root out fraud and hold accountable those who prey on Federal programs.”
This matter was investigated jointly by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the United States Department of Commerce, the United States Air Force, the United States Army, and the United States Department of Defense. Additional assistance was provided by the Small Business Administration and the General Services Administration. Assistants United States Attorney Elliot Wertheim and Robert Firpo handled the investigation.
The claims resolved by the settlement against Sanford Federal, Inc. and Joseph Mandour, are allegations only and there has been no admission or determination of liability.
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office press release
