Category Archives: Government contracting fraud

Fighting Back Against OIG Investigations (But Losing)

Posted on February 23, 2018 by

By Sara Kropf Office of Inspector General—or OIG—investigations can have wide reaching consequences. I’ve written before about the lack of procedural fairness surrounding these investigations. Now, you might think that OIG investigations affect only federal agency employees, but that’s not … Continue reading →

Posted in civil case, Government contracting fraud, OIG investigations | 2 Comments

Fifth Circuit Takes a Goldilocks Approach to False Claims Act Standard for Imputing Knowledge to Corporation

Posted on April 25, 2017 by

The Department of Justice is always busy prosecuting fraud related to government contracts. The two obvious reasons why this is a DOJ priority are (1) a lot of public money is spent through government contracts, and (2) the size and … Continue reading →

Posted in Appeal, civil case, False Claims Act, Government contracting fraud, Kickbacks | Leave a comment

Fifth Circuit Slaps Down District Court’s Loss Calculation in Contracting Fraud Case

Posted on June 26, 2016 by

The government knows—and exploits the fact—that loss amount is the driver of white collar sentences. In criminal contracting fraud cases, the government has taken the position that the relevant loss is the entire amount of the contract that was wrongfully … Continue reading →

Posted in Appeal, Government contracting fraud, Sentencing | 1 Comment

An Appeals Court Finally Takes a Practical Approach to Sentencing in Government Contracting Case (and an Interesting 4th Amendment Issue)

Posted on November 3, 2015 by

Loss calculation drives sentencing decisions in many white-collar cases. The higher the loss amount, the longer the sentence.Courts usually take an expansive view of what counts as a “loss” for sentencing. In a recent Third Circuit case, however, the court … Continue reading →

Posted in Fourth Amendment, Government contracting fraud, Sentencing | Tagged | 2 Comments

Great Decision on Loss Amount Calculation in Government Contracting Fraud Case

Posted on September 29, 2015 by

The calculation of loss amount drives sentencing decisions in many white collar cases. The higher the loss amount, the longer the sentence. Courts always seem to take an expansive view of what counts as a “loss” for sentencing. In a … Continue reading →

Posted in Appeal, Fourth Amendment, Government contracting fraud | Tagged | 1 Comment

The Danger of Opening the Door: Federal Judge Rules that KBR Corporation Must Turn Over Privileged Documents in False Claims Act Case

Posted on August 19, 2015 by

Every trial lawyer has a few tried-and-truisms to use in the courtroom. For the admissibility of evidence: That goes to weight, not admissibility. For expert witnesses: The testimony would be helpful to the jury. And for relevance: They opened the … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial Bribery, Government contracting fraud, Kickbacks | Leave a comment

Where Are They Now? An Update on Past Posts

Posted on July 25, 2014 by

Every few weeks, I review the press releases for the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country. In the blur of stories about drug busts and indictments for low-level health care fraud, sometimes a name sounds familiar. No, not because it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Conviction After Jury Trial, FCPA, Government contracting fraud, Insider Trading, Sentencing | Tagged | 2 Comments

The Largest DBE Contracting Fraud. Yes, Ever.

Posted on February 28, 2014 by

Government contracting fraud has been a hot area for the Department of Justice these last few years. And who can blame it? It’s a huge amount of money being handed out by many agencies, sometimes with less oversight than is … Continue reading →

Posted in Government contracting fraud, Sentencing, Tax fraud | Tagged | 3 Comments

Never Too Old For Bribery? Florida Couple Sentenced for Offering $1.24 Million in Bribes to Obtain Federal Contracts for Foreign Military Goods

Posted on February 5, 2014 by

Sorry it’s been so long since I last posted. I took a few weeks off for the holidays and then tried and won a defamation trial in Virginia last month, sort of.  It’s back to the grindstone now, though. There … Continue reading →

Posted in Bribery, Conspiracy, Government contracting fraud, Plea Agreement | Tagged | 1 Comment

Quick Cases: Government Contracting Fraud

Posted on August 20, 2013 by

They say hell has no fury like a woman scorned. (Technically, William Congreve wrote “Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.”) Maybe there’s also no fury like a government defrauded, … Continue reading →

Posted in Conspiracy, Conviction After Jury Trial, False statements, Government contracting fraud, Kickbacks, Mail Fraud, Plea Agreement, Sentencing, Wire Fraud | Leave a comment