Civil Settlement Reached with New Jersey Company

NEWARK, N.J. – A New Jersey company and its principal will pay $2.4 million to resolve allegations that it improperly obtained contracts set aside for companies owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced

The settlement resolves allegations that Regiment Construction Corp. and its principal, Daniel Hernandez, made false claims in conjunction with contracts awarded to Regiment by the United States. The government contends that Regiment and Hernandez improperly represented that Regiment was eligible to bid on contract set aside for companies owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans when, in fact, a veteran did not own and control Regiment. The United States contends that Regiment was owned by Hernandez, and not the veteran to whom ownership and control was attributed in Regiment’s certification to the United States. 

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited Special Agent Rafael Valverde of the United States Department of Veteran’s Affair’s Office of Inspector General, and Special Agent Michael Moffa of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General, with the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark C. Orlowski of the U.S. Attorney’s Civil Division and David E. Dauenheimer, Deputy Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Civil Division, in Newark.