Investigations

On May 27, 2020, Williams Brothers Construction, Inc. (WBCI) agreed to a $1 million settlement related to disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) fraud investigation involving the Metropolitan Airport Authority of Peoria (MAAP) in Peoria, Illinois, on an airport project funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The settlement resolves claims arising from WBCI’s construction of a new terminal building at the MAAP using Federal Aviation Administration grant funds.

 

The United States contends that WBCI knowingly made false representations regarding its plans to use a DBE on the project and then falsified documents to make it appear that an eligible business performed window, glazing, and curtain wall work. Instead, WBCI allegedly used that business only as a pass-through and had the work completed by an ineligible company. The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.