News

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that MCC Construction Company (MCC) has agreed to pay $1,769,294 in criminal penalties and forfeiture for conspiring to commit fraud on the United States by illegally obtaining government contracts that were intended for small, disadvantaged businesses.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Eric M. Shaffer, 42, of Modesto, was sentenced today by United States District Judge John A. Mendez to one year and a day in prison for theft of Department of Defense property worth more than $316,000, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

The Department of Justice announced today that Wisconsin-based Novum Structures LLC (Novum) has agreed to enter a guilty plea and pay $3 million to resolve its criminal and civil liability arising from its improper use of foreign materials on construction projects involving federal funds. This use was in violation of contractual provisions implementing various domestic preference statutes, often referred to colloquially as the “Buy America” requirements. Novum specializes in the design and construction of glass space frames often used in roofs and atrium enclosures.

LOS ANGELES – A man who operated two businesses that sold office supplies to the federal government has been convicted by a federal jury of giving illegal gifts to federal employees who did business with his companies.

Earlier today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York (“the Office”) filed fraud charges in Brooklyn federal court against Tishman Construction Corporation (“Tishman Construction”), one of the largest construction companies in New York City. Tishman Construction is charged with mail and wire fraud conspiracy for improperly billing its clients more than $5 million over a ten-year period for hours not worked and at rates that were in excess of the agreed upon contract rate.

KANSAS CITY, KAN. - The co-owner of a defunct Missouri construction company has been sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for defrauding a federal program that set aside contracts for businesses owned by service-disabled veterans, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said Thursday.

On October 28, 2015, U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) special agents from New York City recovered a Works Progress Administration (WPA) etching, “Manhattan from Brooklyn” by artist Mortimor Borne, from an antiques store in Hopewell, New Jersey.

Timothy Francis Cashman, a Building Manager for the General Services Administration (“GSA”), was sentenced to 16 months in custody today for accepting bribes and stealing property owned by the United States.

KANSAS CITY, KAN. - A Missouri woman was sentenced Tuesday to 20 months in federal prison for defrauding a federal program that set aside contracts for businesses owned by service-disabled veterans, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said. In addition, she was ordered to pay a $30,000 money judgment.

DENVER – Hemal Ramesh Jhaveri, the owner and former CEO of SofTec Solutions Inc. of Englewood, Colorado, was sentenced in federal court in Denver earlier this week to six months in prison. Jhaveri pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiring to commit the crimes of making false statements to influence the Small Business Administration (SBA) and of filing false federal income tax returns. The conspiracy began in 2006 and continued to 2013.

PHILADELPHIA - Benjamin Twiggs, 37, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged by indictment yesterday with one count of making a false statement and one count of transportation of goods taken by fraud, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The fraud is in connection with the federal Computers for Learning (CFL) program, a program meant to allow federal agencies to donate excess computer equipment to schools and educational nonprofit organizations.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report today concluding that GSA’s administration of an expanded Army childcare subsidy program has resulted in mounting backlogs of unprocessed subsidy requests, unanswered emails, unpaid invoices, and unreturned phone calls, to the detriment of Army families. The OIG’s evaluation began earlier this year after GSA’s current Administrator reported serious concerns about the program to the OIG.

Orlando, Florida - United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces today that the United States has formally filed a lawsuit against URS Federal Services, Inc. and its subcontractor Yang Enterprises, Inc. This lawsuit is brought pursuant to the False Claims Act.

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A federal grand jury returned a racketeering indictment today against the former director of the West Virginia Division of Highway’s Equipment Division, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.

NEWARK, N.J. - A Nigerian man 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, New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

FRESNO, Calif. — Abel Martin Carreon, 57, of Fresno, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii to five years and five months in prison for one count of mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. Carreon was also ordered to pay $1,253,000 in restitution.

COLUMBIA, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles announced today that the United States Attorney's Office for the District of South Carolina, settled claims of fraud with Covan World Wide Moving, Inc., Coleman American Moving Services, Inc., and other related entities with home offices in Dothan, Alabama. The United States contended that Covan and others increased the weights of shipments and storage of servicemember’s and federal employee’s household goods and then submitted claims for payment to the government for the inflated weights.

SAN FRANCISCO- Jeffrey Neely, the former Acting Regional Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), was sentenced to three months imprisonment, to be followed by three months of home confinement, in connection with his guilty plea for making a false claim to the United States, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag and GSA Office of Inspector General, Special Agent in Charge Theresa Quellhorst.

U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) Boston-based special agents recently recovered a Works Progress Administration (WPA) oil painting entitled “Portrait of a Farmer” by George Harris.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Eric M. Shaffer, 42, of Modesto, pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of theft of government property for taking Department of Defense property worth more than $316,000, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

VMware Inc. and Carahsoft Technology Corporation have agreed to pay $75.5 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by misrepresenting their commercial pricing practices and overcharging the government on VMware software products and related services, the Department of Justice announced today. VMware is a Delaware corporation that specializes in computer virtualization software and has its principal place of business in Palo Alto, California. Carahsoft is a privately held Maryland corporation that distributes information technology products to federal, state and local governments and has its principal place of business in Reston, Virginia.

FRESNO, Calif. — Abel Martin Carreon, 57, formerly of Fresno, pleaded guilty today to one count of mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft in connection with a scheme involving surety bonds and government contracts, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

NEWARK, N.J. - A Nigerian man 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, New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Hunter Roberts Construction Group, LLC (“Hunter Roberts”), one of the largest construction companies in New York City, has entered into a non-prosecution agreement and agreed to pay more than $7 million in penalties to the federal government and restitution to victims to resolve a criminal investigation into the company’s past fraudulent billing practices. In addition, pursuant to the non-prosecution agreement, Hunter Roberts will provide continuing cooperation and maintain far-reaching corporate reforms.

WASHINGTON – United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) has agreed to pay $25 million to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims to the federal government in connection with its delivery of Next Day Air overnight packages, the Justice Department announced today. UPS is a package delivery company based in Atlanta.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Global Computer Enterprises, Inc. (GCE), of Reston, Virginia, along with its president and sole owner, Raed Muslimani, 53, of Sterling, Virginia, have agreed to pay $9 million to settle civil claims stemming from allegations that GCE concealed its utilization of prohibited engineers and employees on software services contracts with the federal government.

Yesterday, U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) Boston-based special agents recovered a Works Progress Administration (WPA) oil painting entitled "White House" by Stewart Wheeler.

Timothy Francis Cashman, a Building Manager for the General Services Administration (“GSA”), admitted today to an almost decade-long conspiracy to accept bribes and steal property owned by the United States. In doing so, Cashman acknowledged using his position with GSA (overseeing operations and maintenance at the Otay Mesa, San Ysidro, and Tecate Ports of Entry) for his personal enrichment; rather than to fulfill GSA’s core mission of delivering “the best value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to government and the American people.”

SAN FRANCISCO- Jeffrey Neely, the former Acting Regional Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), pleaded guilty in federal court in San Francisco today to making a false claim to the United States, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag and GSA Office of Inspector General, Acting Special Agent in Charge Theresa Quellhorst.