The Old Problem Is Not Safe Yet: How Long the Government Can Come Back on You
Owners assume that once a contract is years behind them, any mistake buried in it is gone for good. The False Claims Act reaches back…
4 min read
Government Contracting News & Insights
Contracting intelligence for small and minority-owned businesses, from the TIKC advisory team.
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A Prime Pays $1.8 Million for Its Subcontractor’s Veteran-Status Lie
Two contractors paid over $3.6 million to settle a set-aside fraud case, and the detail every prime should notice is this: the prime paid for…
4 min read
Paid for Nothing: The Worthless Services Trap in Government Contracts
You can deliver something and still be accused of fraud if what you delivered was so deficient it was essentially worthless. The worthless services theory…
4 min read
Phantoms on the Payroll: Ghost Employees and Fake Vendors in Government Billing
A name on the payroll who does no work. A vendor invoice for a company that barely exists. Ghost employees and fictitious vendors are one…
4 min read
Coming Clean Can Pay: How Voluntary Disclosure and Cooperation Credit Work
Finding a problem in your own contracts is scary, and the instinct is to stay quiet and hope. The government actually rewards the opposite. Owning…
4 min read
You Take That Agency, I Will Take This One: Why Splitting the Market Is a Crime
Agreeing with a competitor to divide up customers or agencies can feel like a friendly truce that keeps everyone busy. It is actually a serious…
4 min read
Why One Small False Invoice Gets So Expensive: Treble Damages and Per-Claim Penalties
A $10,000 billing mistake rarely costs the government $10,000 to resolve. Under the False Claims Act, damages are tripled and a separate penalty is added…
4 min read
I Did Not Know Is Not a Defense: How Reckless Disregard Breaks the False Claims Act
Many owners think fraud requires a deliberate lie. The False Claims Act is broader than that. If you bill the government while ignoring an obvious…
4 min read
Contractor and Two Executives Pay $21.3 Million for Faking Veteran-Owned Status
The Justice Department announced a $21.3 million settlement with two companies and their top executives accused of using veteran-owned front companies to grab set-aside contracts…
4 min read
Calling It Commercial When It Is Not: The Hidden Risk in Commercial-Item Claims
Selling to the government as a commercial item can skip a lot of red tape. That is exactly why claiming commercial status for something that…
4 min read
Putting Costs on the Wrong Job: Why Cross-Charging Is a Fraud Trap
When you run more than one contract, it can feel harmless to book a few hours or some materials to whichever job has room in…
4 min read
The Test You Did Not Run: Why Faking Inspection and Quality Records Is Fraud
The government pays for proof, not just product. When your contract requires inspections, tests, or quality records, signing off on a test you never ran…
4 min read
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The Briefing is the TIKC weekly federal contracting newsletter covering policy changes, opportunities and practical next steps for small businesses.
- Policy changes worth knowing about
- Opportunities for small and minority-owned firms
- Practical next steps you can act on
