February 8, 2013
A decision by the District Court in the Southern District of Texas gives all companies another good reason (as if any were needed) to avoid criminal violations of statutes governing their conduct. In United States v. CITGO Petroleum Corp., No. C-06-563 (S.D. Tex. Sept. 14, 2012), the District Court reversed its prior decision and held that citizens harmed by a company’s criminal violation…
February 6, 2013
In United States v. Jill Ann Charpia, No. 12-CR-00704 (S.D. Tex. 2012), a former Air Force officer was sentenced to 30 months in prison, three years of supervised release and $920,000 in restitution for falsely billing $1.27 million to the Government regarding Iraq reconstruction contracts. Charpia was the co-owner of Sourcing Specialist LLC. The company was awarded a contract to provide…
February 1, 2013
The Justice Department just announced the entry of pleas by two employees of a machine products company in Georgia: Thomas Cole, the General Manager, and Fredrick Simon, a sales order processor. Cole and Simon pleaded guilty to bribing a public official working for Maintenance Center Albany (MCA), a military organization at the Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, in order to get contracts…
January 30, 2013
In another cautionary tale for contractors, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) denied a contractor’s claims for performance costs that resulted from constructive changes to the contract. The Board found that the government personnel allegedly directing the changes lacked proper authority to alter the contract. See ECC International, ASBCA No. 55781 (Dec. 28,…
January 28, 2013
As previously reported here, despite the FAR rule proposed last August relating to the protection of nonpublic Government information, the contracting community continues to wait for the Department of Defense (DoD) to issue a proposed rule governing unclassified information under Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) Case 2008-D028, 75 Fed. Reg. 9563 (Mar. 3, 2010). Against…
January 25, 2013
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently vacated and remanded a $43 million restitution judgment against two doctors who pled guilty to defrauding Medicare, Medicaid, and thirty private insurance companies by billing for pain injections that they never actually administered. United States v. Sharma, Nos. 11-20102, 11-20167, 11-20204 (5th Cir. Dec. 20, 2012). …
January 25, 2013
The Court of Federal Claims recently granted the Government’s motion to exclude expert testimony in case involving a contractor’s claims for utility location services, finding that the contract was unambiguous. See Cheaves v. United States, No. 12-228C (Fed. Cl. Jan. 10, 2013).
At issue in the case was the interpretation of a particular line item in a firm fixed price contract calling for…
January 22, 2013
In Dellew Corp. v. United States, No. 12-627C (Fed. Cl. Dec. 20, 2012), Judge Miller weighs in on the issue of insourcing and finds the plaintiff had standing but was not entitled to injunctive relief. The case involved an Air Force decision to insource awards and decorations and personnel-management support services at nine Air Force bases half-way through the fourth option year of…
January 18, 2013
The Court of Federal Claims granted a preliminary injunction to a government contractor in a bid protest case because the Army failed to properly document its evaluation of the protestor’s proposal. See Linc Gov’t Services, LLC v. United States, No. 12-522 (Fed. Cl. Dec. 28, 2012). The Court was highly critical of the agency, noting that while it had a great deal of discretion in…
January 17, 2013
The Government disagrees. Policy statements from the current administration regarding corporate officer liability have warned of a more aggressive stance in prosecution of corporate officers under the Responsible Corporate Office Doctrine. Though not used extensively in recent years, the Doctrine is well known as a result of the United States v. Park, 421 U.S. 658 (1975), in which…
January 15, 2013
Montgomery, Alabama construction company Caddell Construction Co. (“Caddell”) recently agreed to a non-prosecution agreement in which the company will pay a $2 million penalty to resolve Department of Justice (DOJ) allegations that the company made false statements in connection with the Mentor-Protégé and Indian Incentive Programs.
Caddell worked on three military construction projects at Fort…
January 11, 2013
As we reported previously, one of the first Executive Orders issued after President Obama took office in 2009 related to a contractor’s or subcontractor’s ability to hire new employees when a contract to provide services to the Federal Government expires and a new contract for the same services is awarded to a different contractor. Executive Order 13495, Nondisplacement of Qualified…
February 8, 2013
A decision by the District Court in the Southern District of Texas gives all companies another good reason (as if any were needed) to avoid criminal violations of statutes governing their conduct. In United States v. CITGO Petroleum Corp., No. C-06-563 (S.D. Tex. Sept. 14, 2012), the District Court reversed its prior decision and held that citizens harmed by a company’s criminal violation…
February 6, 2013
In United States v. Jill Ann Charpia, No. 12-CR-00704 (S.D. Tex. 2012), a former Air Force officer was sentenced to 30 months in prison, three years of supervised release and $920,000 in restitution for falsely billing $1.27 million to the Government regarding Iraq reconstruction contracts. Charpia was the co-owner of Sourcing Specialist LLC. The company was awarded a contract to provide…
February 1, 2013
The Justice Department just announced the entry of pleas by two employees of a machine products company in Georgia: Thomas Cole, the General Manager, and Fredrick Simon, a sales order processor. Cole and Simon pleaded guilty to bribing a public official working for Maintenance Center Albany (MCA), a military organization at the Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, in order to get contracts…
January 30, 2013
In another cautionary tale for contractors, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) denied a contractor’s claims for performance costs that resulted from constructive changes to the contract. The Board found that the government personnel allegedly directing the changes lacked proper authority to alter the contract. See ECC International, ASBCA No. 55781 (Dec. 28,…
January 28, 2013
As previously reported here, despite the FAR rule proposed last August relating to the protection of nonpublic Government information, the contracting community continues to wait for the Department of Defense (DoD) to issue a proposed rule governing unclassified information under Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) Case 2008-D028, 75 Fed. Reg. 9563 (Mar. 3, 2010). Against…
January 25, 2013
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently vacated and remanded a $43 million restitution judgment against two doctors who pled guilty to defrauding Medicare, Medicaid, and thirty private insurance companies by billing for pain injections that they never actually administered. United States v. Sharma, Nos. 11-20102, 11-20167, 11-20204 (5th Cir. Dec. 20, 2012). …
January 25, 2013
The Court of Federal Claims recently granted the Government’s motion to exclude expert testimony in case involving a contractor’s claims for utility location services, finding that the contract was unambiguous. See Cheaves v. United States, No. 12-228C (Fed. Cl. Jan. 10, 2013).
At issue in the case was the interpretation of a particular line item in a firm fixed price contract calling for…
January 22, 2013
In Dellew Corp. v. United States, No. 12-627C (Fed. Cl. Dec. 20, 2012), Judge Miller weighs in on the issue of insourcing and finds the plaintiff had standing but was not entitled to injunctive relief. The case involved an Air Force decision to insource awards and decorations and personnel-management support services at nine Air Force bases half-way through the fourth option year of…
January 18, 2013
The Court of Federal Claims granted a preliminary injunction to a government contractor in a bid protest case because the Army failed to properly document its evaluation of the protestor’s proposal. See Linc Gov’t Services, LLC v. United States, No. 12-522 (Fed. Cl. Dec. 28, 2012). The Court was highly critical of the agency, noting that while it had a great deal of discretion in…
January 17, 2013
The Government disagrees. Policy statements from the current administration regarding corporate officer liability have warned of a more aggressive stance in prosecution of corporate officers under the Responsible Corporate Office Doctrine. Though not used extensively in recent years, the Doctrine is well known as a result of the United States v. Park, 421 U.S. 658 (1975), in which…
January 15, 2013
Montgomery, Alabama construction company Caddell Construction Co. (“Caddell”) recently agreed to a non-prosecution agreement in which the company will pay a $2 million penalty to resolve Department of Justice (DOJ) allegations that the company made false statements in connection with the Mentor-Protégé and Indian Incentive Programs.
Caddell worked on three military construction projects at Fort…
January 11, 2013
As we reported previously, one of the first Executive Orders issued after President Obama took office in 2009 related to a contractor’s or subcontractor’s ability to hire new employees when a contract to provide services to the Federal Government expires and a new contract for the same services is awarded to a different contractor. Executive Order 13495, Nondisplacement of Qualified…
