PhScarborough had pledged coal waste at this West Virginia tract as the asset backing his bonds. Edmund C. Scarborough, who owned the biggest and most public individual surety business in the U.S., once claimed that his guarantees were backed by solid assets comprised of valuable coal waste.In federal bankruptcy court in Tampa July 17, Scarborough and his wife, Yvonne, filed for protection from their creditors, listing assets of $4.5 million and liabilities of $16.2 million.The 70-page filing states that the main business asset held by the debtors is IBCS Mining, a Charlottesville, Va., based company that
Related Links: Schiavone Agrees to $23-Million Settlement for MBE Fraud D.C. Cuts Forrester Payment by $1M Over MBE Joint Venture Federal prosecutors charged steel fabricator and erector Larry Davis, the owner of DCM Erectors Inc., with using front companies and a fraudulent joint venture to fulfill goals for hiring minority- and women-owned companies during construction of One World Trade Center and the adjacent transportation hub in New York City.The charges were revealed by prosecutors in late July in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, where Davis was released on $100,000 bail.Sanford Talkin, an attorney for Davis, denied the charges against his
Photo: iStockphoto/Dwight Nadig The project involved a 30-in.-dia natural gas pipeline, similar to the one at left, in Lycoming County, Pa., along with gas-gathering lines and compressor stations. Related Links: How to Resolve Construction Disputes Proactively Creating a Compliance Culture Lessens Risk of Fraud Faced with mounting interest payments after losing a $24-million jury verdict in Delaware County, Pa., a pipeline company has settled with contractor Utility Line Services, says the contractor's attorney.The jury in April had ordered the defendant, PVR Marcellus Gas Gathering Inc., recently acquired by Dallas-based Regency Energy Partners, to pay Utility Line Services about $16.5 million
Related Links: Beers, Burgers and a Bribe? The Case Against an Expressway Official The Central Florida Expressway Authority Website With his signature on June 20, Gov. Rick Scott (R) and Florida lawmakers disbanded the scandal-plagued Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority and rechristened it as the Central Florida Expressway Authority, which has a new board. Three Florida counties already have appointed new board members, and Scott will appoint the remaining ones.A grand jury indicted two board members, one for violating public-meeting laws in connection with a plan to oust former board Chairman Max Crumit. An engineer seen by many as a transparency
The LinkedIn page for R. Scott Batterson, who IBI Group says is no longer employed by the company. Photo source: Google Earth The alleged bribe offer took place at a sports-themed pub in Orlando called Caddyshanks. Related Links: Website of New Central Florida Expressway Authority It all seemed so blithely casual. And now it’s potentially criminal.An engineering company executive and a couple of directors from the Orlando Orange County Expressway Authority, plus friends, met in Orlando, Fla., at a golf-themed sports pub called Caddyshanks after work one day last July. Beers and burgers were served. Talk turned to a possible
Colorado moved against one of the defendant's in the Chubb surety bond fraud, revoking the insurance license of Steve Stokeling, a director of First Fidelity Asurety Co.The state's Division of Insurance says its investigation of Stokeling's activities is continuing.The order, technically known as an order of summary suspension and issued April 17th, cites fraudulent bonds allegedly provided by Stokeling for a courthouse renovation project in Montrose County, Colo., to TerraVision Consulting in 2012.The order also cites bonds issued for projects in Colorado that were not mentioned in the federal complaint by Chubb and did not involve use of forged or
Related Links: Six New York City Subs and CM Firm Indicted in Latest Interiors Renovation Fraud Probe Structure Tone Inc., the New York City-based building and interiors construction giant, pleaded guilty to fraud charges in a Manhattan court April 30 in a client overbilling and falsified recordkeeping arrangement, and will pay $55 million. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. said the payout was one of the largest forfeitures ever imposed on a construction company. but the firm was sentenced to a three-year "conditional discharge."No company executives were named in the agreement.“Interiors construction is a multi-billion dollar industry in New
Chart Courtesy of ACFE Related Links: Construction Fraud Mirrors Worldwide Ethics Problem When Surety Fraud Goes Unpunished, Small Contractors Suffer Business fraud is nothing new, but it is more prevalent in construction than in many other industries due to the great number of entities involved in most projects, says certified fraud examiner Wayne Kalayjian, a senior manager with Deloitte Financial Advisory Services in Los Angeles.Fraud accounts for roughly 8% of U.S. GDP, according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). "So, if our GDP was about $16 trillion in 2012, then one could argue that fraud accounted for $1.3
Dept. of Veterans Affairs A Dept. of Veterans Affairs website shows William D. Montague prior to his indictment in 2013. After a former Dept. of Veteran's Affairs official in Ohio pleaded guilty last month to taking bribes over many years from an unnamed "integrated design firm" with several U.S. offices, the mystery remains about the identity of the firm.According to emails in the indictment, which was filed last year by federal prosecutors, the unnamed design firm was hoping to vault into the big time by using the official to help it fatten profits and win big VA contracts in western
Photo from AP Wide World Officials of Local 401 were indicted on charges that include arson at non-union projects. Related Links: Federal Charge: Violent Ironworkers' Local 401 Valued its 'THUGS' Trades Must Play Key Role To Keep Industry Competitive, Employers Tell Union Ironworkers Years of alleged intimidation by an ironworkers' union local in Philadelphia through site vandalism, violence and extortion targeting non-union contractors, workers and even the carpenters' union culminated in the arrest last month of 10 of the local's managers and members.They were indicted on U.S. racketeering, conspiracy and arson charges, while the parent union took over the local's
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