Investigations

On December 8, 2017, Walter Toebe Construction Company (Toebe) agreed to a $250,000 civil settlement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit, Michigan, related to violations of the False Claims Act for alleged Disadvantage Business Enterprise (DBE) fraud.

 

Toebe was awarded a federally funded construction project in Michigan that required the company to meet a DBE goal. Between 2007 and 2012, Toebe submitted documents to the Michigan Department of Transportation, claiming the company had used Ace Steel Erection, Inc. (Ace), a DBE firm, to meet the DBE goal. The agreement settles allegations that ACE performed no commercially useful function with respect to the “furnish” portion of its “furnish and install” subcontract for the project.

 

The settlement agreement is a compromise of disputed claims and is neither an admission of liability by Toebe nor a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded.