Dive Brief:
- Contractor KBR, Inc. must pay the federal government $108,000 for accepting subcontractor gifts while performing under a Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP III) contract for the U.S. Department of Defense, the Beaumont Enterprise reported.
- Managers for the Houston-based contractor, the Enterprise reported, improperly accepted expensive dinners, golf outings and event tickets from two subcontractors that had previously settled claims for kickback violations.
- Under the LOGCAP III contract, KBR constructed facilities and managed the infrastructure for Army base camps, as well of a host of other services, in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Dive Insight:
KBR, a former subsidiary of Halliburton, has received criticism for being what many consider a "shoe in" for government contracts because of connections to former Vice President Dick Cheney, who was CEO of Halliburton until 2000.
However, political connections aside, there seem to be an abundance of construction companies lately that have played fast and loose with the rules of their government contracts.
Three executives in PA recently pleaded guilty to perpetrating a 16-year fraud on the government by claiming to be a disadvantaged business enterprise in order to win $19 million of transportation contracts.
In addition, a Navy contractor was just indicted for falsely certifying that he had paid all subcontractors on a navy warehouse renovation project when he allegedly pocketed the money and left subcontractors and suppliers unpaid.
In fact, according to the Enterprise, this case against KBR came about as a result of another investigation into a different case of fraudulent billings.
It seems, though, that there is an uptick in the crackdown of these cases, as evidenced by the fine the courts have ordered KBR to pay.
