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Department of Justice United States Attorney David L. Huber Contact: Sandy Focken |
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April 8, 2008
VINE GROVE MAN INDICTED FOR MAKING A FALSE STATEMENT TO THE SBA TO QUALIFY COMPANY FOR $1.2 MILLION CONTRACT WITH THE ARMY
LOUISVILLE, KY - A federal grand jury in Louisville returned an Indictment against William R. Richards, age 62, of Vine Grove, Kentucky, on the charge of making a false statement to the Small Business Administration (SBA) in support of application for a company to be certified as a HUBZone company, David L. Huber, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, announced today. Such certification entitles a company to qualify for receipt of federal contracts specifically reserved for businesses which receive HUBZone certification. HUBZone geographic areas are economically distressed.
The Indictment alleges that in February 2005, Richards submitted an application to the SBA on behalf of Commonwealth Technologies, LLC for the company to be certified as a HUBZone business. To be certified as a HUBZone company, a business must be small, reside in a location which has been designated as a historically underutilized business zone, and have 35% of its employees residing in HUBZone areas. Certified HUBZone companies are eligible to bid for and receive federal contracts which are specifically set aside and reserved for such businesses. It is further alleged in the Indictment that the application submitted by Richards on behalf of Commonwealth Technologies, LLC falsely stated that the company employed two persons at that time, one of which lived in a HUBZone area. The Indictment alleges that Commonwealth Technologies, LLC employed no one at that time, and Richards knew this fact at the time he submitted the application to the SBA.
In reliance on information contained in Commonwealth Technologies’ application, the SBA certified the company as a HUBZone business, and in May 2005, Commonwealth Technologies, LLC was awarded a $1.19 million contract with the U.S. Army to build a courthouse at Ft. Campbell. The contract was available only to companies which had been certified by the SBA as HUBZone businesses. The Indictment further alleges that it wasn’t until after Commonwealth Technologies, LLC had obtained the contract with the U.S. Army that it employed anyone.
In the event of a conviction, the maximum potential penalties are 2 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and supervised release for a period of 1 year.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jim Lesousky, and it was investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
Richards is scheduled to appear for arraignment before the United States Magistrate Judge on April 23, 2008, at 9:00 a.m., in Louisville, Kentucky.
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The indictment of a person by a Grand Jury is an accusation
only and that person is presumed innocent until and unless
proven guilty.
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