Falsifying Social Disadvantage

Atlanta DBE MBE WBE Fraud Attorney – (404) 550-4615

Do you have information about a company that used fraud to get a DBE (disadvantaged business enterprise), MBE (minority-owned business enterprise) or WBE (woman-owned business enterprise) contract? As a whistleblower who files a successful False Claims Act lawsuit, you can stop the fraud and get between 15% and 30% of the amount the Government gets back. Find out more about filing a fraud claim and what you can expect in the process. Lee Wallace of The Wallace Law Firm, LLC is an honors graduate of Harvard Law School who is committed to helping individuals like you stop fraud.

We’ll review your whistleblower case for free: (404) 550-4615.

How Companies Cheat

Congress has asked government agencies to set aside a small percentage of their contracts for small businesses owned by “socially disadvantaged individuals.” 15 USCS § 637(a)(5). Some unscrupulous businesses try to snatch these jobs from the small businesses Congress aimed to help.

For examples, businesses may try these tactics:

• Pretend to be owned by someone who is socially disadvantaged, when in reality the primary owner of the company does not meet the DBE requirements.
• Set up fake companies that are owned by people who qualify for DBE status – but who are not really going to get the contract or the bulk of the money that comes with it.

The U.S. Code defines “socially disadvantage individuals” as people “who have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias because of their identity as a member of a group without regard to their individual qualities.” 15 USCS § 637(a)(5).

Do you know about a company that is cheating? Ask our experienced Atlanta whistleblower lawyer about filing a False Claims Act lawsuit. We can help you punish the wrongdoers and recover a percentage of the amount the Government receives in damages.

What Does Socially Disadvantaged Mean?

In its regulations, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has said that the following groups are presumed to be “socially disadvantaged:”

• Black Americans;
• Hispanic Americans;
• Native Americans (this group includes natives of Alaska and Hawaii, as well as “enrolled members of a Federally or State recognized Indian Tribe”);
• Asian Pacific Americans, which includes people who originated from these countries: Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Japan, China (including Hong Kong), Taiwan, Laos, Cambodia (Kampuchea), Vietnam, Korea, The Philippines, U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Republic of Palau), Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Samoa, Macao, Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu, or Nauru);
• Subcontinent Asian Americans, which includes people whose origins lie in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, the Maldives Islands or Nepal.

13 C.F.R. § 124.103(b).

While someone who falls into one of these groups is presumed to be socially disadvantaged, it is a “rebuttable presumption.” In other words, a person who fits within one of these designated groups qualifies as socially disadvantaged until evidence proves they are not in fact socially disadvantaged.

Discuss your case with an attorney at The Wallace Law Firm, LLC today.