Government Procurement Fraud Lawyers – Defense Attorneys
We Help Government Contractors Within the U.S. and Overseas Fight Procurement Fraud in Civil and Criminal Cases. Our Government Procurement Fraud Lawyers Bring over 30 Years of Government Experience to the Table. It has always been our position that if defense lawyers do not understand federal procurement laws, they cannot adequately represent you.
Facing federal False Claims Act procurement fraud allegations is like standing at the edge of a financial cliff with your business. reputation, and career future hanging in the balance. Before you take a wrong step, do you have the right legal defense to pull you back to solid ground? Watson & Associates, LLC, government contract fraud defense attorneys and procurement fraud defense lawyers can help.
When You are Served With Civil Investigative Demands or Subpoenas for False Claims Act Allegations, Our Law Firm Can Help.
The federal procurement process protects taxpayer dollars from the government’s exposure to certain fraudulent schemes to procure goods and services. Unfortunately, the potential for services and products procured by fraud is significant.
A significant portion of federal procurement funds are paid to small business contractors and large businesses under government contracts to provide weapons, military equipment and supplies, construction, medical products, logistical support, security protection, and construction assistance. While defense contractor fraud may be committed in an infinite variety of ways, some of the more common types of procurement fraud include:
- Supplying Defective Products and Services
- Quality Assurance & Testing Violations
- SBA Small Business Programs
- Federal Acquisition Regulation violations
- Cross Charging or Mischarging
- Bribery, Kickbacks, Self-Dealing, and Bid-Rigging
- Defective Pricing and Violations of the Truth-in-Negotiations Act
- Buy American Act and other Trade Agreement Act Violations
Procurement fraud, which involves unlawful manipulations to acquire government contracts unfairly, is still high. As a result, federal law enforcement agencies such as the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Inspector General (OIG) are aggressively pursuing ‘bad actors.”
Nationwide Government Contract Fraud Defense Attorneys
The problem is that not all allegations of government fraud translate into a violation of the law. Therefore, the government procurement fraud attorneys at Watson & Associates, LLC represent small businesses and large DOD defense contractors throughout the United States.
As government procurement fraud lawyers and government contract fraud defense attorneys, we represent government contractors in complex claims associated with contractor fraud.
Get Free Tips on Defending A Government Procurement Fraud Case - Download Now
What are Types of Government Procurement Fraud Schemes?
There are many situations where services and products and procured by fraud. The procurement process is exposed to various bidding strategies that federal prosecutors may consider procurement fraud schemes. At the end of the day, any action that focuses on getting an unfair advantage, manipulation of the bidding and solicitation process, secret collaborations between the government and the contractor, illegal kickbacks, and the like can be considered a government fraud scheme under 18 USC 1031.
Product substitution fraud
The product substitution procurement fraud scheme happens after the contract is awarded. When the contract interchanges or swaps agreed-upon goods and substitutes them for cheaper or substandard goods. If your products are falsely substituted, then you could find yourself defending a False Claims Act procurement fraud case under the Buy American Act BAA compliance regulations. If the government is claiming that you falsely certified or swapped our products, please call government procurement fraud lawyers for immediate help.
Conflict of interest Fraud
If a conflict of interest occurs in procurement fraud cases, then someone selects your company based on personal relation, kickback, or some other violation of the government procurement ethics rules. If there is an exchange for the award of the contract, this can amount to procurement fraud conflict of interest concerns. If you have been served with a civil investigative demand or subpoena, call our government procurement fraud attorneys.
Collusion/bribery procurement fraud
When someone who makes decisions in the federal procurement process favors one contractor over another for contract award, there can be an OIG or DOJ government investigation for collusion, bribery, or kickback fraud. Call our government contractor fraud lawyers at 1.866.601.5518.
Bid rigging
Bid rigging is fraud in government contracting that occurs when vendors manipulate the bids or proposals submitted to the federal government. Contractors may collude to offer similar pricing, raise prices, remove competition, etc. If your company receives a civil investigative demand or subpoena in a government investigation, our federal government procurement fraud attorneys can help.
Government Contractor Fraud Defense Lawyers – How to Defend Against Procurement Fraud Charges?
When facing government procurement fraud False Claims Act allegations, there are common legal defenses you can assert to protect your rights and business:
1. Lack of Intent
One of the best legal defenses against government procurement fraud is demonstrating a lack of fraudulent intent. Procurement regulations are incredibly complex, and honest mistakes or misunderstandings are common. Our federal procurement fraud defense lawyers would seek to show that errors were unintentional, not deliberate attempts to defraud. For example, in United States v. Mazkouri, 945 F.3d 293 (5th Cir. 2019), the court overturned a conviction because the government failed to prove the defendant knowingly submitted false claims. Honest mistakes are not looked at as intentional procurement fraud.
2. Compliance with Contract Terms
Another effective defense is proving that you fully complied with all material contract terms and specifications. Our government contract fraud defense lawyers meticulously review all documentation to show you delivered exactly what was required. The case of United States v. Sanford-Brown, Ltd., 788 F.3d 696 (7th Cir. 2015) illustrates this legal defense. The court ruled that technical violations of regulations, without more, do not equate to fraud if the defendant otherwise complied with contract terms.
4. Good Faith Reliance on Expert Advice
If you relied in good faith as a government contractor on the advice of legal counsel, professional accountants, or other experts in your contracting practices, a defense against procurement fraud could develop. This could be an approach to winning your case. Our government contractor fraud attorneys will work to show your company reasonable steps to ensure compliance, and not to defraud the federal government. The Supreme Court has recognized this defense in cases like United States v. DeFries, 129 F.3d 1293 (D.C. Cir. 1997), where reliance on counsel negated fraudulent intent.
5. Statute of Limitations
Procurement fraud charges must generally be brought within the required statute of limitations. Our federal government procurement fraud lawyers carefully examine the timeline to ensure the statute of limitations hasn’t expired on any accusations. In Cochise Consultancy Inc. v. United States ex rel. Hunt, 139 S. Ct. 1507 (2019), the Supreme Court clarified the statute of limitations for qui tam actions under the False Claims Act, emphasizing its importance in these cases.
Pre-contract Procurement Fraud 18 USC 1031
Contracting fraud under 18 USC 1031 can occur before the contract award or afterward. Some examples of pre-contract fraud include bid rigging, submitting defective pricing, collusion with other bidders to control the market, price fixing, and even falsely certifying the small business’s status. All of these situations are the types that our government procurement fraud attorneys can help with.
Get Free Tips on Defending A Government Procurement Fraud Case - Download Now
Post Contract Procurement Fraud Types
After a government contract award, many more types of fraud can occur. They include submitting false invoices, conspiring to submit fraudulent change orders to the contract, and submitting false claims for defective products or substandard materials. This level of government contractor fraud can also include pass-through procurement fraud schemes where the prime contracting passes through more than the legal amount of work to the subcontractor.
Government employees can also participate in fraudulent actions by submitting to contractor bribes and accepting money and kickbacks in exchange for manipulating the procurement evaluation and or award process.
Defense attorney for False Claims Act Violations & Whistleblower False Claims Act Cases
One common type of procurement fraud case is called a Whistleblower or Qui Tam case. This occurs when an employee or another contractor blows the whistle and reports evidence of government contract fraud. At Watson & Associates, LLC, we offer government procurement fraud attorneys to represent contractors in whistleblower FCA cases. As False Claims Act investigation attorneys, we defend clients under Qui Tam investigations, indicted or facing a criminal case involving healthcare fraud or government contractor fraud.
What is Product Substitution?
Product substitution in government contracting means that the contractor is delivering nonconforming goods against the contract terms. This is quite often in federal construction cases or where contractors are substituting goods violating the Trade Agreements Act (TAA) or Buy American Act (BAA). If you are being investigated or facing a criminal charge for product substation on a federal government contract, our government procurement fraud lawyers can help.
What is Cost Mischarging Fraud?
Contractor cost mischarging happens when contractors charge the government for unallowable costs under the contract or try to invoice the government for costs associated with another contract, or simply overcharge the government.
What Can You Do if the Feds Come Knocking On Your Door?
This will be an obvious situation where you should not volunteer any information without having legal counsel. If a federal agent or investigator knocks on your door and asks to question you about services or products procured by fraud, you should politely oblige, but only under the condition that your attorney is present. Government Procurement fraud investigations can turn into either civil or criminal cases. You have constitutional rights in federal criminal cases. Watson’s government procurement fraud attorneys and defense attorneys for False Claims Act violations will examine the facts of your care and assess the strengths and weaknesses.
18 USC 1031 Government Contracting Fraud Lawyers: Wise D. Allen. Scott Lovelock Theodore Watson
How Can Government Contractors Defend Procurement Fraud Cases?
Every case has different facts. However, the first thing that a reputable procurement fraud defense lawyer should look for is to dismantle the prosecution’s fraud case. In short, the first thing is to assess the case to see if there is any unintentional behavior or other facts to justify the allegation. Defending government contractor fraud is not an easy task. However, our government contract fraud defense attorneys have the experience and skills to carefully peel back the government’s evidence and look for serious errors.
Nationwide and Overseas Reach
With law offices in Washington DC, California, Florida, Dubai and Colorado, our federal contract fraud criminal defense lawyers can help. Whether you are a manufacturer, vendor, prime contractor, subcontractor or reseller to the federal government, Watson & Associates’ procurement fraud defense lawyers can help you.
IF YOU'RE READY TO HIRE AN ATTORNEY BOOK A CALL HERE
Call Watson & Associates’ Government Procurement Fraud Attorneys Today
To speak with our government procurement fraud lawyers, call Watson & Associates law firm at 1.866.601.5518 for a Free Initial Consultation or contact us online. Speak to Theodore Watson.