Government Contracts Monitor

Short Take: Big Incentive to Blow the Whistle on Small Business Set Aside Scams

July 13, 2015

Sansbury and Buechler, former employees of LB&B Associates, Inc., filed suit under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act for false claims allegedly made by their former employer to the government. Specifically, the former employees alleged that LB&B made false statements to obtain contracts through the Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) 8(a) Business Development Program for Small Disadvantaged Businesses.

According to the lawsuit, LB&B obtained 8(a) Program certification by falsely representing that Lily Brandon –a socially and economically disadvantaged person – controlled LB&B, when in fact she did not. This certification permitted LB&B to obtain non-competitive 8(a) set aside contracts from various agencies.

Sansbury and Buechler also alleged that LB&B made false claims in connection with the SBA’s Mentor-Protégé Program which allows participants to obtain set aside contracts following their graduation from the 8(a) Program.

Sansbury and Buechler will recover a total of $1.5 million of the $7.8 total settlement being paid by LB&B and its principals. All in a day’s work . . ..

The civil lawsuit was filed in the District of Columbia and is captioned United States ex rel. Sansbury, et al. v. LB&B Associates, Inc., et al., No. 07-cv-00251 (D. D.C.). Justice Department Announcement.

Attorneys

Lindsay Simmons