Fraud update: prison time, penalties for cheaters

      The Justice Dept. announced several actions related to contracting frauds:

• Helen Renee Ballard, of Maryland, who was in charge of a central contracting office at the GSA, was sentenced to a year in prison for a scheme that allowed her husband to obtain federal work. Her husband got 18 months.
• Michael Pirolo, of Florida, was sentenced to four years and two months in prison for falsely claiming to register 1,200 companies to obtain preferences in FEMA contracts. He also was ordered to pay restitution of $594,000.
• Atlantic Diving Supply (ADS), of Virginia, agreed to pay $16 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit related to alleged False Claim Act violations. The company was charged with posing as a small business to win federal set-asides.

Shutdown, debt crash?

      The Professional Services Council is urging federal contractors to prepare for a possible government shutdown or debt ceiling crisis on or near Oct. 1. While the PSC executives said the likelihood of a shutdown is low, they stressed the need to be ready.

$1.5B in personal service

      The federal government reported spending about $1.5 billion on personal services contracts for fiscal 2011-2015, mostly at defense agencies. However, the Air Force and Army did not record these contracts accurately in federal databases, GAO said.

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