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What is Fraud, Waste, and Abuse?
- Fraud: wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain. Fraud includes false representation of fact, making false statements, or by concealment of information.
- Waste: thoughtless or careless expenditure, mismanagement, or abuse of resources to the detriment (or potential detriment) of the U.S. government. Waste also includes incurring unnecessary costs resulting from inefficient or ineffective practices, systems, or controls.
- Abuse: excessive or improper use of a thing, or to use something in a manner contrary to the natural or legal rules for its use. Abuse can occur in financial or non-financial settings.
Who Reports FWA?
Reporting suspected instances of FWA is a duty of all citizens, in particular Government employees.
- Government employees required per 18 CFR § 3c.3 and 5 CFR Sec. 2635.101
- Navy employees required per DoD 5500.07R, Joint Ethics Regulation (JER)
Reporting FWA
- Department of the Navy
- Department of Defense
- Small Business Administration Programs - Scams and Fraud Alerts
Types of Fraud in the SBIR/STTR Programs
- During the Application Process:
- Submitting a plagiarized proposal
- Providing false information regarding the company, the Principal Investigator or work to be performed in a proposal
- Seeking funding for work that has already been completed
- During the Period of Performance of the Award:
- Using funds for personal use or any use other than the proposed activities
- Submitting plagiarized reports or reports falsely claiming work has been completed
- Claiming results for an award that were funded by a different source
Inquiries
The DoN SBIR/STTR liaison for FWA to the Office of the General and the Suspension and Debarment Official (SDO) is Brian Shipley, Director, DoN SBIR/STTR Programs. Direct FWA inquiries to Mr. Shipley at [email protected].
Examples of SBIR/STTR Fraud-related Cases
- 2021 -
- Owner of Houston-based C-Crete Paid $147,589 for Alleged False Claims Act Violations
- Metna Paid $500K to Settle False Claims Allegation; Two-Year Ban from Federal Contracting
- 2020 -
- Kansas Engineering Firm KalScott to Pay $672,352 to Settle False Claims Allegations
- Pengcheng Lv (AlphaSense Inc.) Paid $700K for Violation of False Claims Act
- 2019 -
- Georgia Tech Professor Fined $40K, Barred from Federal Government Business for 3 Years
- Dr. Miroslav Velev (Aries Design Automation) Served 3 Months in Federal Prison, Paid $200K
- Cell-Free Bioinnovations Founder/Virginia Tech Professor Convicted of NSF Grant Fraud
- E. M. Photonics and CEO to Pay $2.75M to Resolve Allegations of Contracting Fraud
- 2018 -
- $5M in Assets Seized from Bin Wen (UEE, LLC) and Peng Zhang (ATM, LLC) for Wire Fraud
- TrellisWare Technologies, Inc. Paid $12M+ to Settle Civil False Claims Act Allegations
- Masstech and Former CEO & CFO Claim False Small Business Status, Paid $1.9M to Settle
- Wallace Tang (dba Blue Sky Engineering, Black Hills Nanosystems & Laserlith) and 2 Other Corporate Representatives Paid Nearly $1.1M in Criminal Restitution before Guilty Pleas
- 2017 -
- Dr. Jian Yun Dong Received 70 Months' Prison Sentence, Ordered to Pay $3M+ in Restitution; His Corporations, GenPhar Inc. and Vaxima Inc., Fined Over $12M
- 2016 -
- Owner of LifeTechniques and Care Team Solutions Agreed to $4.5M Settlement
- Former UCSD Professor Admitted Fraud, Agreed to Forfeit $180,000
- Agiltron, Inc. and its President Falsified Labor Costs, Paid $2.25M
- 2015 -
- Pennsylvania Couple at ArkLight Indicted for Wire Fraud with University Lab, Paid $200K
- Florida Scientists Sentenced to Prison, Paid $10.6M for Defrauding SBIR
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