NY Company Collaborated with DBE in Violation of False Claims Act

February 16, 2016

Upstate New York Construction Company And Individuals To Pay More Than $1 Million To Settle Fraud Claims

Source: The United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of New York, February 3, 2016

ING Civil and RAMSCO Collaborated with a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise to Submit False Filings to the Government in Violation of False Claims Act

An upstate New York construction company and three individuals have paid $1,012,000 to resolve claims that they defrauded a government program designed to benefit women- and minority-owned contractors, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian. The settling parties are Watervliet-based ING Civil, Inc. and its owner, Corey Ingerson; James Beaudoin, who is the former president of Watervliet-based Rexford Albany Municipal Supply Company, Inc. (RAMSCO); and former RAMSCO salesman John Leary.

The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) has promulgated regulations intended to provide opportunities for businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals to perform work on projects financed, at least in part, by the federal government. DOT also administers a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program that requires state and local governments receiving federal funding to establish goals for the participation of DBEs on federally-funded projects. A contractor may claim credit for a DBE’s participation on a project only if the DBE serves a “commercially useful function.” A DBE performs a commercially useful function when it is responsible for execution of a distinct element of work on a contract. A DBE does not serve a commercially useful function if its role is limited to that of an extra participant to a transaction through which funds are passed to create the impression that members of a historically disadvantaged group worked on a contract. Read More …

Need more understanding about the False Claims Act? Contact your nearest PTAC to learn how to avoid fraud claims.

 

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