A New Jersey contractor was recently indicted on 27 counts involving fraudulently obtained public contracts. The contractor had previously been prohibited from bidding on public contracts due to prevailing wage violations and unpaid fines. 

    To get around this prohibition, the contractor stole a Social Security number from an acquaintance and used it to obtain a public works contractor registration certificate under a fictitious trade name.  He listed the acquaintance as the sham company's president.

    The contractor then used the fraudulent certificate to successfully bid on a public dam project worth almost $700,000 and two other public contract projects.  However, his scheme fell apart after a job site accident led to a lengthy investigation revealing his use of an alias.

    In addition, the contractor made false representations as to workers' compensation coverage and employer's liability insurance, performance bonds, and notarizations connected to the dam contract.  Because the state-funded dam project had to be rebid, the state lost additional time and money.

    The contractor may be facing serious jail time and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and restitution.  Click here for the full text of the indictment.

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