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Procurement Fraud Enforcement
Each year, the federal government spends several hundred billion dollars to obtain goods and services from corporations and other nongovernmental entities. Under the critical eye of the nation's taxpayers, the federal government has amplified its own scrutiny of the ethics and integrity of its procurement officers and those companies with which it contracts. Via new national legislation and investigative initiatives, the attention of Capitol Hill and federal law enforcement offices across the nation is keenly focused on the prevention, detection and punishment of procurement fraud. It is a brand new day ' and a potentially dark one for the unwary governmental contractor.
Recent Scandals and Prosecutions
Several recent highly publicized investigations have fueled the federal government's heightened efforts to crack down on schemes involving conflicts of interest, defective pricing, bid-rigging, product substitution, accounting fraud, grant fraud, misuse of classified or other sensitive information, and other ethical breaches. Among them was the manipulation of a federal contract for the leasing of 100 Air Force refueling tankers worth over $20 billion. Darleen Druyun, the Air Force's former principal deputy assistant secretary for acquisition and management, supervised the lease negotiations and other Boeing contracts only to retire and begin working at Boeing. Not only did Druyun give Boeing special treatment, she agreed to higher pricing and negotiated lucrative jobs for herself and family members. In October 2004, she pled guilty to conflict of interest violations and conspiracy to defraud the government, and was sentenced to nine months in a federal prison. See Merle, Renae: 'Long Fall for Pentagon Star: Druyun Doled Out Favors by the Millions.' The Washington Post, Nov. 14, 2004. For his role in the company's improper job talks with Druyun, Boeing's chief financial officer Michael Sears also pled guilty to conflict of interest violations and was sentenced to four months in prison. See 'Former Boeing CFO Sears Sentenced to Prison, Fined.' St. Louis Business Journal, Feb. 18, 2005. Significantly, Boeing was fined $615 million, the largest sum in a federal procurement fraud matter. See Tomasko, Catherine: 'Boeing Pays Record $615 Million to End Fraud Charges.' Andrews Publications (Jul. 14, 2006).
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