NEWARK, N.J. — A Rahway, New Jersey-based highway contractor, MV Contracting Inc., has agreed to pay $950,000 to settle allegations that it falsely represented itself as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) to secure federally funded contracts, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
The settlement resolves claims that between October 2016 and April 2019, MV Contracting obtained several contracts funded by the Federal Highway Administration (FHA), which were designated for DBE companies under a program aimed at addressing discrimination in highway contracting markets.
The U.S. government alleged that the company knowingly misrepresented its eligibility to qualify as a DBE and submitted improper payment claims, which were ultimately paid with federal funds.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, led by Inspector General Eric J. Soskin, and the Office of Inspector General for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, led by Inspector General John Gay.
The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark C. Orlowski of the U.S. Attorney’s Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark.
