A Kansas construction executive was sentenced to prison for a “rent-a-vet” and “rent-a-minority” scheme he used to win hundreds of government contracts worth a combined $346 million intended for minority- or veteran-owned small businesses for which he was not qualified.
1月5日，美国地方法院法官Roseann Ketchmark判处堪萨斯州奥拉西市的45岁的Matthew C. McPherson判处两年零四个月的联邦监狱，没有假释。密苏里州西区的美国检察官办公室宣布，麦克弗森还没收了超过550万美元，他在该计划的收益中所占的份额。判决是麦克弗森（McPherson）2019年的认罪性辩护，要求犯有电汇欺诈和重大计划欺诈行为。
Zieson Construction Co.于2009年7月与一位非裔美国人服务的资深人士Stephon Ziegler成立，是名义所有者。但是，实际上是麦克弗森（McPherson）是托皮卡（Topeka）的麦克弗森（McPherson）承包商的总裁，以及同谋帕特里克·丁格尔（Patrick Dingle）和马修·托格森（Matthew Torgeson），他们经营了齐森建筑。
美国检察官办公室说，在2009年至2018年的控制下，齐森建筑获得了大约199个联邦合同，为该公司实际所有者无权获胜的小型少数族裔或资深企业拨出了约199个联邦合同。政府向公司支付了约3.35亿美元的支付，而阴谋家使用虚假的发票从Zieson支付了约420万美元。
到2014年,当局说Zieson增长太big to compete for the small business contracts, so the conspirators used a Native American employee, Rustin Simon, to set up another business, Simcon Corp., in Missouri. They used Simcon to compete for more contracts they weren’t actually qualified for, and the company won a $4.4-million Air Force contract and $6.9-million Army contract in 2016.
“This contractor not only defrauded the government, but cheated to get contracts that should have gone to firms led by disabled veterans and minority owners,” U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore said in a statement. “His greed and deception allowed him to enrich himself at the expense of disabled veterans and minority owners.”
A representative for McPherson Contractors, now doing business as MCP Group, declined to comment on McPherson’s current status with the company. Paperwork filed with the Kansas Secretary of State lists McPherson as the company’s president as of March 2021, the most recent documentation available.
Dingle pleaded guilty in September 2020 to conspiracy to commit wire and major program fraud, and is awaiting sentencing. In a separate case, he also pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return. Torgeson died in 2019.
齐格勒（Ziegler）于2019年5月对美国退伍军人事务部作出虚假陈述认罪。他计划于2022年1月20日被判刑。西蒙在2019年6月认罪，涉及两项向小型企业管理局作出虚假陈述的罪名。他正在等待量刑。
2019年政府问责办公室（GAO）报告发现，具有不透明所有权结构的承包商对促进政府与少数族裔，妇女，服务贫困的退伍军人或其他经济或社会弱势群体拥有的小型企业合同的计划有风险。GAO确定了20个辩护部门的案件。承包商或承包商雇员被定罪，认罪或与此类欺诈有关的指控，以便虚假地有资格获得此类合同。在2021年，follow-up report指出，国防部正在采取措施评估与承包商所有权欺诈有关的风险。
