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Federal Construction Contracting Seminar to examine pitfalls as government focuses on fraud

  
NASBP's Federal Construction Contracting Seminar will take place in Washington, DC on Thursday, June 11, the day after the Legislative Fly-in. The seminar is designed to teach the surety industry about federal construction contracting's “hidden pitfalls” that could result in civil and criminal liability, said Michael Zisa of the law firm Peckar & Abramson, P.C., in Washington.

Several hundred million of the federal government's $5.69 billion in fraud-related collections last year involved procurement fraud, said Zisa, who will be among the presenters at the event.

“This trend is expected to continue with the appointment of the new Attorney General, who has a history of focusing on the construction industry,” he added.

The one-day seminar will focus on such topics as mentor-protégé arrangements, joint ventures and small-business regulations. It will open with a discussion of the False Claims Act and the federal government's heightened level of focus on fraud within the construction industry, said Lori Ann Lange of Peckar & Abramson, who will present on that topic, among others.

Presenters at an afternoon session will examine types of joint-venture agreement clauses that can lead to fraud allegations. One way such problems can arise is through silent joint-venture provisions, in which the parties involved do not disclose that they have formed a joint venture, Lange said.

“We also will discuss how the failure to comply with certain joint-venture provisions, such as the percentage of work to be self-performed by the joint venture partners, can be viewed as fraud by the federal government,” she said.

Presenters, including Kenneth Dodds, Director of the SBA's Office of Policy, Planning and Liaison, will address small-business regulations. He will speak about the SBA's proposed rules that would place limitations on subcontracting. He also will discuss the expansion of the SBA's Mentor-Protégé Program.

The registration fee for the June 11 seminar is $395. To register for the seminar, visit NASBP.org
 
Attendees of the June 9 to 10 Legislative Fly-in can receive a discount in the amount of their Fly-in registration, which is $195. To learn more and register for the Fly-in, click here.

Contact Michele Thomas at mthomas@nasbp.org with questions about registration for these events.
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