News

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Virginia-based consulting group and its president and majority owner agreed to a $4.8 million settlement with respect to allegations that they paid kickbacks, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Raj Parekh for the Eastern District of Virginia.

SAN ANTONIO – Keith Alan Seguin, a 55-year-old former civilian employee at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, admitted this morning to receiving millions of dollars in bribes in connection with a government contract fraud scheme that spanned more than a decade and impacted hundreds of millions of dollars in contract awards.

BOSTON – A Newton man pleaded guilty today in connection with defrauding the General Services Administration.

CAMDEN, N.J. – The president of a company providing goods to government agencies today admitted to attempting to defraud businesses in connection with government contracting, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.

HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on May 4, 2021, Joshua Keller, age 30, of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to one year and one day imprisonment followed by a two-year term of supervised release by U.S. District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani, for destruction of government property and lying during the purchase of a firearm. Judge Mariani also ordered Keller to pay $39,393 in restitution.

BOSTON – A Newton man was charged yesterday in connection with defrauding the General Services Administration.

PROVIDENCE – A Brooklyn, NY, businessman who admitted to arranging the manufacture of counterfeit clothing, apparel, and gear, in China and Pakistan, that was shipped to wholesalers for distribution in the United States, including to the United States military, has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison and ordered to pay a $15,000 fine.

A Missouri man pleaded guilty today to rigging online bids submitted to the General Services Administration (GSA).

Today, a federal grand jury in San Antonio, Texas, returned an indictment charging the former owner of several companies in the construction industry for his role in a long-running scheme to defraud the United States.

WASHINGTON – Two Texas construction company owners have pleaded guilty in a long-running scheme to defraud the United States.

PHILADELPHIA – Deputy United States Attorney Louis D. Lappen announced that SAP Public Services, Inc. has agreed to pay the United States more than $2.2 Million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by failing to pay required fees on contracts it signed pursuant to agreements with the United States General Services Administration (GSA).

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Kansas man pleaded guilty today to lying to a federal investigator who was looking into allegations of major program fraud, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.

Greenbelt, Maryland – Arthur Morgan, age 67, of Lorton, Virginia, pleaded guilty today to a federal wire fraud charge, in connection with federal contracts to provide helmets, body armor, and other items to military and other federal entities. Morgan also pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, a charge which was originally brought in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, but was transferred to Maryland.

BURLINGTON – Schneider Electric Buildings Americas, Inc. (Schneider Electric), a nationwide provider of electricity solutions for buildings and data centers with its principal place of business in Carrollton, Texas, will pay $11 million to resolve criminal and civil investigations relating to kickbacks and overcharges on eight federally-funded energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs), the Department of Justice announced today. Under the contracts, Schneider Electric was to install a variety of energy saving upgrades such as solar panels, LED lighting, and insulation in federal buildings.

An employee of a government contractor pleaded guilty today to his involvement in a scheme to overbill a contract administered by the General Services Administration (GSA) by approximately $1.25 million, and solicit and receive kickbacks from a subcontractor in exchange for providing that subcontractor valuable contract modifications.

Cognosante LLC has agreed to pay the United States $18,987,789 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by using unqualified labor and overcharging the United States for services provided to government agencies under two General Services Administration (GSA) contracts, the Justice Department announced today. Cognosante, which is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, provides health care and IT services and solutions to federal agencies.

Orlando, Florida – Edwin Torres Arenas (49, Oviedo) has pleaded guilty to seven counts of stealing government funds. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison on each count. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

MADISON, WIS. -- A federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin, sitting in Madison, has returned the following indictments. You are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

WASHINGTON – Ronnie Simpkins, 68, of Lusby, Maryland, a former government contract officer with the General Services Administration (GSA), was sentenced to a 21-month prison term on a federal bribery charge stemming from a scheme in which he accepted bribes from government contractors from August 2011 to August 2017. Simpkins pled guilty to the charge on December 19, 2019.

Industries for the Blind and Visually Impaired Inc. (IBI) has agreed to pay the United States $1,938,684.09 to resolve allegations that IBI violated the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Act in connection with certain federal contracts set aside to employ blind workers, the Justice Department announced today.

NEWARK, N.J. – A Nigerian national was sentenced today to 36 months in prison for his role in a computer hacking and identity theft scheme that defrauded vendors of nearly $1 million of office products after “phishing” e-mail login information from government employees, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

The Department of Justice announced today that QuantaDyn Corporation (QuantaDyn), headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia, has agreed to resolve civil claims arising from allegations that it engaged in a bribery scheme to steer government contracts for training simulators to the company, as part of a broader settlement that includes a guilty plea by the company. As part of the plea agreement, QuantaDyn has agreed to pay $37,757,713.91 in restitution, which also will resolve the company’s civil False Claims Act liability for the scheme. William T. Dunn Jr., the majority owner, President, and Chief Executive Officer of QuantaDyn, has separately paid $500,000 to resolve his personal False Claims Act liability.

In San Antonio today, an Ashburn, VA-based software engineering company called QuantaDyn Corporation (QuantaDyn) entered a guilty plea to a federal charge in connection with a bribery and government contract fraud scheme that spanned more than a decade and impacted contract awards worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In addition, the corporation has agreed to pay a $6.3 million fine and more than $37 million in restitution.

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of 2 counts of Wire Fraud and 1 count of Theft of Government Property was sentenced by Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.

PROVIDENCE – A Brooklyn, NY, businessman appeared before a U.S. District Court judge in Providence, R.I., on Tuesday and admitted that he brokered the manufacturing of counterfeit clothing, apparel and gear manufactured in China and Pakistan that was shipped to wholesalers in the United States for distribution. Some of the counterfeit items were distributed to members of the United States military.

Tulsa, Oklahoma-based contractor the Ross Group Construction Corporation (Ross Group), and its corporate affiliates, have agreed to pay over $2.8 million to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by improperly obtaining federal set-aside contracts reserved for disadvantaged small businesses, the Justice Department announced today.

Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal grand jury in Maryland has returned an indictment charging Arthur Morgan, age 67, of Lorton, Virginia, with federal wire fraud charges, in connection with federal contracts to provide helmets, body armor, and other items to military and other federal entities. The indictment was returned on July 6, 2020.

BOSTON – Three men were sentenced today in federal court in Boston for conspiracy to defraud the United States and mail fraud in connection with a scheme to obtain government contracts.

BOSTON – An Uxbridge man and Maryland woman were charged with conspiring to defraud the government of thousands of dollars from 2014 to 2018.