Syracuse, NY – In a case that exposes the darker side of government contracting, Sean O’Sullivan, a 61-year-old construction contractor from Sackets Harbor, NY, was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay $345,271.34 in restitution to the United States. O’Sullivan’s conviction stems from a conspiracy to commit wire fraud in relation to government contracts and conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States by offering and giving gratuities to a former Fort Drum contracting officer.
The scheme, which unfolded between May 2014 and July 2017, involved O’Sullivan’s company, Sierra Delta Contracting, LLC, bidding on and receiving multiple construction contracts from the Army at Fort Drum, New York, as well as one construction contract from the U.S. Department of Transportation. All of the contracts were set aside for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs), a designation that requires a construction company to be majority-owned and controlled by a service-disabled veteran.
However, O’Sullivan, who is not a service-disabled veteran, conspired with his business partner, David Rose, of Newport News, Virginia, to defraud the United States by bidding for and obtaining contracts set aside for SDVOSBs, to which they knew they were not entitled. O’Sullivan certified to federal agencies that Sierra Delta was an SDVOSB by representing, falsely, that Rose personally managed and controlled the company’s day-to-day business operations.
In reality, O’Sullivan controlled and managed Sierra Delta, hiring his own construction company, SOS Inc., as the primary subcontractor on the fraudulently obtained contracts. This enabled O’Sullivan to retain the majority of the resulting profits, which totaled over $3.3 million in gross revenue. O’Sullivan personally received $345,271.34 in profits from the scheme.
The scheme was uncovered after two government agencies challenged Sierra Delta’s SDVOSB status and questioned whether Rose actually managed the construction company on a day-to-day basis. In response, Rose falsely claimed that he “controlled the long term and day to day operations of Sierra Delta Co.”
The investigation into O’Sullivan’s scheme involved a collaborative effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, the General Services Administration, and the Small Business Administration. The case serves as a stark reminder of the importance of transparency and accountability in government contracting.
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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