With federal, state, and local governments requiring government contractors to comply with more and more requirements, government contracting is getting more complex by the day. At the same time, federal and state government agencies are focused now, more than ever, on ferreting out fraud, waste, and abuse in government contracting, owing in part to limited resources and intense scrutiny from legislatures and the public. As a result, government contractors are increasingly subject to investigations by governmental agencies. Government contractors are also required to conduct their own internal investigations and disclose potential misconduct.
We conduct internal investigations and partner with our clients to make relevant disclosures, including mandatory disclosures under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and disclosures in other jurisdictions. We are asked by our clients to help them navigate highly sensitive audits and investigations led by the agency inspectors general, U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), state attorneys general, and other federal government agencies when a finding of noncompliance may lead to suspension, debarment, and potentially civil and criminal liability. Our team regularly represents and advises clients on internal and external investigations as well as voluntary and mandatory disclosures:
- Advised a client on possible mandatory or voluntary disclosure issues arising out of allegations of kickbacks and improper payments by subcontractors.
- Represented a technology reseller in a voluntary disclosure and subsequent joint Department of Defense (DOD) and General Services Administration (GSA) inspector general investigation.
- Represented a major information technology company in an investigation of fraud by a former employee related to the performance of government contracts.
- Represented a client in a DOJ and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) inspector general investigation into fraud in the E-Rate Program.
- Represented a major telecommunications company in a DOL investigation into possible Davis–Bacon prevailing-wage violations arising out of a project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
- Represented a major logistics company in a DOL investigation into compliance with the Service Contract Act.
- Served as counsel to a Nasdaq company in the first reported investigation by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), GSA, and DOJ into alleged violation of the False Claims Act based on a purported false certification of business size.
- Conducted an internal investigation on behalf of a leading enterprise security company to assess whether any mandatory disclosures would be necessary in light of GSA pricing methodologies and disclosure of commercial sales practices.