Excluded Parties List System Suspended And Debarred Businesses And Individuals Improperly Receive Federal Funds

To protect the government's interests, any agency can exclude (i.e., debar or suspend) parties from receiving federal contracts or assistance for a range of offenses. Exclusions of companies or individuals from federal contracts or other funding are listed in the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS), a Web-based system. Recent allegations indicate that excluded parties have been able to receive federal contracts. This report: (1) determines whether these allegations could be substantiated; and (2) to identify the key causes of any improper awards and other payments detected. The auditor investigated parties that were excluded for offenses such as fraud, theft, and violations of federal statutes and received awards in excess of $1,000. Charts and tables.

Data in the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) was insufficient to enable gov¿t. agencies to determine with confidence that a prospective vendor was not currently excluded. In response, agencies had to enter a DUNS number to facilitate the ident. of excluded parties. Despite such modifications, recent allegations indicate that bus. or individuals that have been excluded for egregious offenses have been able to "resurface" under the same or a different bus. name or identity in order to continue to receive fed. contracts and other funds. Kutz described the results of his invest. confirming these allegations in a report. This testimony summarizes overall findings and also describes the key causes of the improper awards and other payments that were detected.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent agency that works for Congress. The GAO watches over Congress, and investigates how the federal government spends taxpayers dollars. The Comptroller General of the United States is the leader of the GAO, and is appointed to a 15-year term by the U.S. President. The GAO wants to support Congress, while at the same time doing right by the citizens of the United States. They audit, investigate, perform analyses, issue legal decisions and report anything that the government is doing. This is one of their reports.

Contract and procurement fraud, collusion, and corruption are worldwide problems. Such wrongdoing causes federal, state, and local governments, as well as private-sector corporations and businesses, to lose funds and profits, while the wrongdoers unjustly benefit. Bid riggers conspire to eliminate fair and open competition and unjustly increase prices, allowing some to monopolize industries. Too often, contracting officials and others responsible for placing orders or awarding contracts compromise their integrity and eliminate fair and open competition to favor vendors offering bribes or gifts. This results in unfair playing fields for vendors and causes financial losses for businesses, government agencies, and taxpayers. Charles Piper’s Contract and Procurement Fraud and Corruption Investigation Guidebook educates readers on fraud and corruption schemes that occur before, during, and after contracts are awarded. This book teaches not only how to identify such wrongdoing, but also how to investigate it and prevent reoccurrence. Piper shares the Piper Method of Conducting Thorough and Complete Investigations, his innovative and proven method of investigating contract and procurement fraud, and demonstrates its principles with personal, on-the-job examples (which he calls "War Stories") woven throughout the text. Intended for criminal justice students, as well as investigators, auditors, examiners, business owners, policy-makers, and other professionals potentially affected by fraud, this book is a must-read guide to effective procurement and contract fraud investigations from inception to testimony.

This report responds to two ongoing mandates under the Amer. Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). It is the fifth in a series of reports since passage of the Recovery Act on the uses of and accountability for Recovery Act funds in 16 selected states, certain localities in those jurisdictions, and D.C. These jurisdictions receive about two-thirds of the inter-governmental assistance available through the Recovery Act. It is also the second report to comment on the jobs created or retained as reported by recipients of Recovery Act funds. The auditor interviewed state and local officials and other Recovery Act award recipients. He also spoke with officials at federal agencies overseeing Recovery Act programs. Charts and tables.