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Firm to pay $2M fine in DC procurement fraud case
Source: Associated Press
Firm to pay $2M fine in DC procurement fraud case
AP foreign, Monday December 15 2014
By BEN NUCKOLS
Associated Press= WASHINGTON (AP) — A Maryland construction company has admitted to orchestrating phony partnerships to get millions in District of Columbia government contracts and agreed to pay a $2 million fine, ending a two-year fraud investigation.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District announced the agreement with Forrester Construction Corp. of Rockville, Maryland, on Monday. The company had been under investigation for fraud in the procurement of $145 million in government contracts. The Associated Press was first to report the existence of the investigation.
Forrester teamed up with small District firms to win the contracts by promising that the local firms would do 51 percent of the work. But instead, prosecutors say the companies entered into side agreements that called for the local firms to do little to no work in exchange for a kickback.
Critics say that kind of arrangement undercuts the purpose of a city government program that gives advantages to local companies seeking contracts and makes it difficult if not impossible for law-abiding firms to submit winning bids.
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AP foreign, Monday December 15 2014
By BEN NUCKOLS
Associated Press= WASHINGTON (AP) — A Maryland construction company has admitted to orchestrating phony partnerships to get millions in District of Columbia government contracts and agreed to pay a $2 million fine, ending a two-year fraud investigation.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District announced the agreement with Forrester Construction Corp. of Rockville, Maryland, on Monday. The company had been under investigation for fraud in the procurement of $145 million in government contracts. The Associated Press was first to report the existence of the investigation.
Forrester teamed up with small District firms to win the contracts by promising that the local firms would do 51 percent of the work. But instead, prosecutors say the companies entered into side agreements that called for the local firms to do little to no work in exchange for a kickback.
Critics say that kind of arrangement undercuts the purpose of a city government program that gives advantages to local companies seeking contracts and makes it difficult if not impossible for law-abiding firms to submit winning bids.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/feedarticle/11690801