You Can Help Stop WEBE Fraud

Atlanta Whistleblower Attorney – Call (404) 550-4615

If you know about a company that is getting WBE contracts under false pretenses, call The Wallace Law Firm, LLC, to discuss whether you can file a False Claims Act lawsuit to stop the fraud. Successful whistleblowers not only can put a stop to the fraud, they also are entitled to receive 15% to 30% of what the Government collects from the fraudsters. Lee Wallace of The Wallace Law Firm, LLC is a Past President of the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers. She understands why this kind of fraud really matters. Let’s put a stop to fraudulent activity together.

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How People Cheat the WBE Program

In order to encourage small businesses, the U.S. sets aside a certain percentage of contracts for small businesses owned by groups that traditionally have not been awarded governmental contracts. The contracts are reserved for disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs), including woman-owned business enterprises (WBEs).

Unfortunately, some big contractors that regularly do business with the Government are exploiting the program to rake in more contracts for themselves.

By law and agency regulation, to be certified as a WBE, a business must be:

• At least 51% owned and controlled by a woman,
• And it has to be classified as “small” by small business administration standards.

Some companies fake their income or their ownership in order to get certified as a WBE. Other companies use real companies as a front for themselves; while it appears a WBE is getting the contract, in reality a much larger company is pulling the strings, handling the contract, and reaping most of the profits.

Suspect a company is fraudulently posing as a WBE business? Talk to our team about whether you can blow the whistle on WBE fraud by filing a False Claims Act lawsuit. Attorney Lee Wallace has been protecting whistleblowers and fighting back against fraud for over 25 years. She knows what it takes to win a case.

Case Study: A Case Brought by a Whistleblower to Expose WBE FRAUD

* On May 1, 2014, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced that a construction company had agreed to pay $12 million to settle claims it had defrauded the programs designed to promote WBEs and MBEs. According to the Government, Chicago-based James McHugh Construction Co., Inc., got contracts for 7 different public construction projects for roads highways and transit lines. The projects were funded by both state and federal monies.

In order to get the contracts, the Government explained, McHugh fronted Perdel Contracting Corp. and Accurate Steel Installers, Inc. Elizabeth Perdino owned the businesses. Her companies bid for the contracts and were awarded them. According to the Government, however, the companies were merely fronts, the contracts passed through to McHugh Construction. The women-owned businesses submitted the bills for payment, but the Government said the claims were false because McHugh Construction was the entity that was actually doing the work. The companies Perdino owned were just “pass-throughs” that funneled money and contracts to McHugh.

A whistleblower, Ryan Keiser, brought the suit. He was project manager for Perdel Contracting Corp. and Accurate Steel Installers, Inc., which operated three of the construction sites where McHugh did the work. Under the provisions of the False Claims Act, Keiser got 17% of the money that the Government got, or $2,040,000. The majority of the money came from the United States – $1,224,000, but another $816,000 came from Illinois.

Call (404) 550-4615 Today for Elite Advocacy & Proven Results

Lee Wallace helps whistleblowers stop fraud against small businesses, including WBEs. If you know about a company defrauding the WBE program, call The Wallace Law Firm, L.L.C. to see whether you can file a suit. You can stop insidious fraud and receive between 15% and 30% of what the Government collects from the people who cheated the program.

Learn more today during a FREE case consult: (404) 550-4615.