BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – A federal judge today sentenced a government contractor in Huntsville to nine years in prison for a scheme to defraud the government of nearly $14 million in contract payments over six years.
U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor sentenced Joseph Shane Terry, 41, of Meridianville, Ala.
Terry, who was sole owner of Government Technical Services, pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud, false statements to the Small Business Administration, false statements on loan applications, and money laundering.
According to Terry’s plea agreement, he carried out his scheme to defraud the government as follows:
Terry applied for and obtained a small disadvantaged or minority-owned business status from the SBA in 2003 by submitting fraudulent tax returns. In order to maintain that status, Terry also submitted false tax returns to the SBA for each year from 2004 through 2008. Having the special status with the SBA enabled his company, GTS, to bid on and win government contracts specifically set aside for small disadvantaged businesses.
Terry submitted personal and corporate returns to the SBA for the tax years 2002 through 2007 to show he was current on filing his taxes, but he had never filed the returns with the IRS.
Terry’s wire fraud scheme culminated in GTS obtaining a $961,551 contract in September 2006 to install metal roofing on three buildings at Fort Polk, La. In order to obtain authorization to start work on this contract, GTS submitted forged performance and payment bonds and a power of attorney from a Mississippi bond company and its parent surety company in Louisiana.
U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance; Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge Veronica Hyman-Pillot; Department of the Army, Criminal Investigation Command Special Agent in Charge James Wallis; Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin; and Small Business Administration Inspector General Peggy E. Gustafson announced Terry’s sentence.
Related Federal Cases
- Derrick Gadsden, Wire Fraud, Alabama 2006 · Florida
- Rodney Hesson, Medicare Fraud, Alabama 2009 · Florida
- Onoetiyi and Johns, Conspiracy to Commit Nigerian Fraud Scheme, Mississippi 2022 · Louisiana
- Willie Richard Short, Conspiracy to Transport Stolen Goods, Alabama 2009 · Florida
- Olsen Saravia-Hernandez, Tax Fraud Conspiracy, Louisiana 2023 · Louisiana
Key Facts
- State: Alabama
- Category: White Collar Crime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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