Investigations

On December 31, 2020, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York entered into a civil settlement agreement with The Fenceman, Inc. Fenceman agreed to pay $109,000 to resolve civil False Claims Act allegations relating to their receipt of Federal aid contracts as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) through the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT).

 

From May 1, 2009 to September 25, 2013, Fenceman filed three NYSDOT DBE Certificate Eligibility Affidavits with NYSDOT, certifying there had been no changes in the ownership, management, or control of the operation of Fenceman since its last certification eligibility review. These affidavits were not accurate as Fenceman had changed daily controls during this timeframe. During the time specified by the agreement, Fenceman entered into 23 Federal aid contracts in which the prime contractor received approximately $2.89 million in DBE credit for the work Fenceman performed.

 

DOT-OIG conducted this investigation with the Department of Labor-OIG, New York State-OIG and the NYSDOT Investigations Bureau.