A construction contracting company and its president have agreed to pay $400,000 to resolve allegations collectively they violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by circumventing small business set-aside requirements in a federally funded contract, federal officials announced today.
According to federal officials, the settlement announced today resolves allegations that C. Abbonizio Contractors Inc. and the company’s president, Peter Abbonizio, violated FCA set aside requirements that they use certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) to perform work on the contract.
Federal officials say, the allegations were that C. Abbonizio and Peter Abbonizio falsely certified that DBE companies Sanzo Ltd. (Sanzo) and Multifacet LLC (Multifacet) were performing work on the Direct Connection Project, a federally funded New Jersey Department of Transportation project to provide infrastructure improvements to the intersection of Routes I-295, I-76, and Route 42 in Camden County.
According to the allegations, Sanzo and Multifacet were not performing work.
Instead, they were simply billing C. Abbonizio Contractors for work performed by other vendors on the project, along with a markup for their participation.
Officials say, the settlement resolves the complaint filed on May 29, 2020, against C. Abbonizio Contractors Inc. and Peter Abbonizio.
Under the terms of the settlement, C. Abbonizio Contractors will pay $375,000, and Peter Abbonizio will pay $25,000.