Disadvantaged Business Enterprise

Fraud case involves $31M intended for disadvantaged small businesses

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“Executives at two Arlington companies have pleaded guilty after being accused of fraudulently obtaining more than $31 million in federal contract payments meant for disadvantaged small businesses, the Justice Department said Monday.

Justice alleged that Hedman and an unnamed African American woman established an Arlington-based security service consulting company around 2001. The woman was named president and chief executive, allowing the contractor to win work set aside for certain minority-owned small businesses, Justice alleged.

After the woman left in 2003, the company was no longer eligible for the set-aside work, and Hedman created a shell company to win small-business work, even though it was not qualified, according to Justice.”

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Watchdog Cites Early Contract Award ‘Congratulations’ as Violation

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“A former Illinois Tollway official and one of its major contractors violated agency rules in awarding a $35 million construction contract on the Tri-State Tollway (I-294), according to a watchdog’s report Thursday.

Tollway Inspector General James Wagner said in a report to the tollway board that the agency’s then-chief of procurement acted improperly in allowing a prime contractor to violate policy regarding a disadvantaged business enterprise subcontractor.

State agencies require that these companies are given a share of work because they are owned by women or minorities.

The former official also acted inappropriately by sending a letter to the construction company and congratulating it for winning the contract on Oct. 2, 2007, three weeks before the tollway board approved the contract, Wagner said.”

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Construction company’s appeal over airport terminal is rejected

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“The City of Wichita’s Bid Board unanimously rejected an appeal from contractor Dondlinger/Hunt Tuesday afternoon.

Dondlinger/Hunt says its bid to build the new airport terminal was the lowest. The company was disqualified because city officials say it didn’t make a “good-faith” effort to get enough disadvantaged subcontractors for the project.

The airport authority will award the contract later this month after considering the recommendation of the Wichita Airport Advisory Board (WAAB). WAAB recommended that the construction contract go to Wichita’s Key Construction working with Walbridge from Detroit. Key/Walbridge’s bid was for $101.5 million.”

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Fair shake for disadvantaged businesses urged as New Orleans schools are rebuilt

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“Almost seven years into a historic drive to rebuild schools in New Orleans, education officials have begun putting teeth into efforts aimed at hiring more disadvantaged businesses to do the work, hoping to bring in more small local contractors owned by women and minorities. With more than $1 billion in contracts left to bid out, the state-run Recovery School District said Monday that it will put a new disadvantaged business enterprise, or DBE, program in place, requiring contractors to make a good-faith effort to ensure as much as 25 percent of all construction work is handled by disadvantaged companies.

Though it is still working out the specifics, the Orleans Parish School Board, which has joint oversight with the Recovery School District over the master plan for school construction, is getting ready to vote on a more ambitious goal of 35 percent, in line with City Hall’s target for contract spending. The board had a long-standing DBE program, but it fell by the wayside in the wholesale reorganization that followed Hurricane Katrina.”

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I-287 contractor in plea talks on fraud charge

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“A subcontractor on the troubled Interstate 287 construction project is in negotiations with federal prosecutors to plead guilty in connection with fraud on the $568 million highway reconstruction, Newsday has learned.

Yona Jimenez, 57, of Roslyn, Long Island, was indicted in October on charges that she lied about claims that her company, Global Marine Construction Supply, provided $6 million worth of steel for the project from 2006 to 2009.

Federal prosecutors said Jimenez, whose business is a certified minority-owned company under the government’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprises program, was acting as a front for a nonminority business that actually provided the steel. She profited about $60,000 from the fraud, according to her attorney, Timothy Parlatore.”

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Airport Terminal Construction Delayed

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“… Aim Steel failed to submit proper paperwork to the Georgia Department of Transportation and is no longer certified through the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program.

The project will be delayed until another minority-owned company can be found to do the work.”

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Schiavone Agrees to $23 Million Settlement for MBE Fraud

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