Two Firms Suspended; Allegedly Served as Fronts SBA has suspended two companies for allegedly serving as fronts for a large business in obtaining work from the Department of Homeland Security. The companies, EG Solutions and Multimax Array FirstSource, had used GTSI Corp. as a subcontractor on task orders issued under Homeland Security’s First Source contract, a small business set-aside. While SBA did not name GTSI, it said a subcontractor “performed most if not all of the work” on task orders issued to EG Solutions and Multimax Array. GTSI was suspended from contracting for more than two weeks in October for allegedly using small businesses as fronts. The company was reinstated after two top executives resigned and it agreed to allow SBA to monitor its business practices. (SAA, 10/22) After the GTSI suspension, SBA officials said they “determined additional action must be taken to protect the best interest of the taxpayers and the integrity of small business government contracting.” In letters to EG and Multimax Array, SBA said there was evidence that the companies “committed fraud or a criminal offense” in obtaining contracts. The two companies cannot be awarded any new contracts while they are suspended. They have the right to contest the action. EG Solutions was originally a joint venture between GTSI and Eyak Technology LLC, an Alaska Native company. EG is now a subsidiary of Eyak Technology. In a statement, the parent Eyak Corp. said it is committed to “following the letter of the law regarding all SBA rules and regulations.” Multimax Array FirstSource is a joint venture of Array Information Technology and Harris Corp., which acquired Multimax. A 2008 teaming agreement specifies that GTSI “will undertake the fulfillment of all orders” awarded to Multimax Array under the First Source contract and would keep 99.5% of the revenue. The agreement was filed in court in connection with a lawsuit and was published by the Washington Business Journal. The Washington Post reported that the Homeland Security Department had received complaints for more than two years questioning whether the two suspended companies were serving as pass-throughs for GTSI, but DHS took no action.