Contractor Life: Colorado man leading USAID response to Ebola in Africa

October 28, 2014 | Contractor Life, Humanitarian & Aid

More than 6,000 miles from Colorado, Ebola is raging in several countries in Africa. More than 2,600 people have died and another 5,000 have been infected in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia -- countries that are ill-equipped to deal with the virus.

"This is ground zero, if you will, the country where most of the deaths have occurred," said Tim Callaghan, who is heading up the Ebola Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) with USAID, the government agency which handles international disasters.

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Former Army Contracting Official Sentenced to Four Years in Prison in Bribery and Kickback Scheme

October 28, 2014 | Justice Abroad

WASHINGTON —In Seon Lim, a former contracting official for the U.S. Department of the Army, was sentenced last week to four years in prison for his role in a scheme in which he accepted over $490,000 worth of benefits, including cash payments and vacations, from favored contractors. In return, he helped these businesses obtain millions of dollars in federal contracts.

The sentencing was announced by Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI);

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Peggy E. Gustafson, Inspector General for the Small Business Administration (SBA); Robert E. Craig, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Mid-Atlantic Field Office of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), and Frank Robey, Director of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit (MPFU).

Lim, 48, of Fairfax Station, Va., also known as InSeon Lim, pled guilty in July 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to three offenses: conspiracy to commit bribery and honest services wire fraud; bribery; and attempting to interfere with and impede tax laws. He was sentenced by the Honorable Leonie M. Brinkema.

Upon completion of his prison term, Lim will be placed on three years of supervised release. He also must pay restitution, including $250,000 to the Department of Defense and nearly $125,000 to the IRS. In addition, he must pay a forfeiture money judgment of $490,262.

Lim is among 18 individuals and one corporation, Nova Datacom, LLC, to plead guilty to federal charges in an investigation that uncovered the largest domestic bribery and bid-rigging scheme in the history of federal contracting cases. Overall, participants in the scheme stole over $30 million in government money through inflated and fictitious invoices.

According to a statement of offense, signed by Lim as well as the government, Lim was a public official until April 2012. The charges involve his activities as an assistant project manager and product director with the Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems, a part of the Army that provides infrastructure and informational management systems.

Until June 2010, Lim resided and worked in Seoul, South Korea. While in South Korea, his primary duties were to oversee and implement communications systems upgrades for the U.S. forces there, which included approximately 10 communications centers and various other special projects at military sites throughout the country. Among other things, Lim coordinated work on a major contract, which, in turn, had numerous sub-contracts.

From June 2010 until his resignation in April 2012, Lim worked as a product director at Fort Belvoir, Va.

In the statement of offense, Lim admits that he secretly used his official position to enrich himself by soliciting and accepting gifts, payments and other things of value from government contractors—totaling more than $490,000—in return for favorable official action. Among other things, the statement of offense notes, Lim received payments personally and to accounts that he controlled; payments for travel, vacation, vehicles, cellphones and cellular service for himself and family members; ownership interests in two companies, and other benefits.

In exchange, Lim now admits, he provided favorable official action on subcontracts obtained and retained by the favored government contractors as requested and as opportunities arose. He also disclosed confidential bid information to the favored government contractors.

“This Army official sold the public trust for a half-million dollars in bribes,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “Lim is now headed to prison along with many other corrupt officials and government contractors brought down in this sweeping investigation. His fate is a warning shot for other government officials tempted to sell out the American people to line their own pockets that they should think twice. The prison sentences handed out in this case make clear that government officials and business people who corrupt the contracting process put their own freedom at risk.”

“In his role as a federal contracting officer, In Seon Lim betrayed the trust that was placed in him by fellow citizens by taking bribes in exchange for providing favorable action on government contracts,” said Assistant Director in Charge McCabe. “The FBI, with our partners, will continue to investigate and expose fraudulent kickback schemes that tarnish the good and ethical work that procurement officers carry out on behalf of the U.S. government each and every day.”

“The kickback scheme in which In Seon Lim participated disrespected the hard work and dedication of thousands of government employees who are committed to providing honest services in the federal contracting process,” said Special Agent in Charge Kelly. “IRS-Criminal Investigation stands committed to weeding out individuals, who abuse the privilege of their positions as a public official, for their personal gain.”

“Today’s sentencing is a reminder that public servants are accountable for their actions, and individuals who violate the public’s trust will be brought to justice,” said Small Business Administration Inspector General Gustafson. “The actions of In Seon Lim and his conspirators grossly undermine the honest work being done every day by Federal employees and government contractors. I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for its dedicated leadership and professionalism in pursuit of justice served today.”

“As a contracting official for the Department of Defense, In Seon Lim disregarded his duty, lived a lie at the expense of the American taxpayers, and completely violated the trust placed in him by his position,” said Special Agent in Charge Craig. “The Defense Criminal Investigative Service and our law enforcement partners are fully committed to aggressively investigating and prosecuting this kind of illegal activity within the federal procurement process.”

“Mr. Lim admitted that he secretly used his official position to ‘enrich himself’ when committing these selfish criminal acts,” said Director Robey, of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit. “That attitude and the related criminal actions will not be tolerated in the Department of the Army. Let this again be a warning to all who work with and for the U.S. Army: if you commit contract fraud, we will catch you and do everything within our power to see you brought to justice, just like Mr. Lim.”

The court documents provide details about numerous contracts and payments. For example:

-Nova Datacom: According to the statement of offense, two former employees of the Northern Virginia company—Alex N. Cho, also known as Young N. Cho, and Nick Park—paid Lim $40,000 in cash in 2007. In addition, Park paid for Lim’s travel, lodging, meals and entertainment during a trip to the Philippines in 2007, and Cho paid for Lim’s lodging, $10,000 cash, and a $1,000 casino chip during a trip later that year to Las Vegas. Lim, meanwhile, agreed to use his official position to recommend the company for a contract valued at nearly $330,000.

-Avenciatech:According to the statement of offense, former officials of Avenciatech, Inc., a government contractor based in Annandale, Va., provided Lim with cash payments; payments for hotel stays for Lim and family members, including a trip to the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas; payments to finance the purchase of a 2010 Lexus automobile, and payments for other things of value. One of the officials, Oh Sung Kwon, also known as Thomas Kwon, also assisted Lim in obtaining financing for the purchase of a home in Fairfax Station, Va., where Lim resided following his reassignment in 2010 to a position at Fort Belvoir. Lim, meanwhile, assisted the company in obtaining more than $3 million in contracts.

-UEI: Nick Park left Nova Datacom in 2007 and co-founded another government contractor, Unisource Enterprise Inc. (UEI), based in Annandale, Va. According to the statement of offense, in exchange for favorable treatment, Lim was given a secret ownership in UEI. Among other things, Lim provided Park with sensitive procurement information. He also assisted the company in obtaining a government sub-contract worth over $1.1 million.

Cho, Park, and Kwon are among those who earlier pled guilty to charges in the case.

In addition to pleading guilty to the conspiracy and bribery charges, Lim admitted that he failed to report the bribes he received on tax returns for the years 2007 through 2011. He also failed to keep records that would allow him to file accurate records for 2012 and 2013.

In announcing today’s sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, U.S. Attorney Boente, Assistant Director in Charge McCabe, Special Agent in Charge Kelly, Inspector General Gustafson, Special Agent in Charge Craig, and Director Robey thanked those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office; the Washington Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the Office of the Inspector General for the Small Business Administration; the Department of Defense’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the Defense Contract Audit Agency, and the Army Criminal Investigation Command. They also expressed thanks to the U.S. Marshals Service for its assistance on the forfeiture matter.

They also praised the efforts of those who prosecuted the case, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael K. Atkinson of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Saler of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Hanly, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Finally, they expressed thanks for assistance provided by former Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Seeley; former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Dana; Forensic Accountant Maria Boodoo; Paralegal Specialists Tasha Harris, Krishawn Graham, and Taryn McLaughlin; and Legal Assistant Jessica McCormick, all of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Article found at the Department of Justice

Overseas federal contractor jobs common in industry

October 27, 2014 | OVERSEAS INTEL

After Scott Lang’s tours in Iraq and Kuwait, you might think the last thing he would want to do is go back to the Middle East. Yet the retired Army colonel left uniformed life for work as a civilian contractor with Exelis in 2008 and promptly returned overseas.

“The reason I came back was the mission, the passion to serve the Army that I grew up with,” he said. Lang is not alone. For many veterans, the military contracting industry offers a way to rejoin the fight, not as a fighter but as a support player for troops overseas. Those with an interest may find a range of opportunities available for working in foreign lands.

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Take, for instance, Northrop Grumman Corp., which places its employees in some 40 countries. It’s not unusual for the massive contractor to have dozens of open jobs abroad at any given time, spanning from cybersecurity to aviation to logistical support.

Even those with field skills can find a place in the ranks. Artillery experts, for example, may go overseas in support of the company’s counter-rocket air defense missile support work. That’s a job you won’t find if you choose to remain stateside.

The common thread?

“A lot of the skill sets they picked up while on active duty are very close to what we are looking for,” said Northrop Grumman recruiter Jimmy Sneed. “A lot of our soldiers for the last 10-plus years have deployment experience, they know what it’s like across the water, and a lot of them want to go back. They may have seen contractors and the work they were doing, and they want to be part of that.”

This sense of familiarity often makes a veteran a strong candidate for jobs overseas, especially at a time when a shrinking military is looking to shift some of its responsibilities onto the private sector.

“They have been there, done that. They know our customer very well, and they come out with the skill sets that we need for work that used to be done by military and is now done by us on the contractor side,” said Frank Peloso, vice president and director of human resources at Exelis Mission Systems.

Of its 6,600 employees, the company places about 5,000 overseas. Peloso said there were about 500 openings for jobs in foreign countries. As with many contractors, Exelis Mission Systems sends its people overseas for one-year terms, with the option to renew or to remain with the company in a domestic position.

Is it for you?

For those considering an overseas job, it helps to consider a number of factors before sending out that résumé. Some things to mull:

■ Less discretion. Working overseas for a contractor requires a change of mindset, Peloso said. While in uniform, people may be used to getting the job done with whatever tools are at hand. Civilian work is a little stricter, more exacting, with stricter rules to adhere to.

“We always have to work within the terms of the contract. That is our agreement with the government, and we have to operate inside those boundaries,” he said.

■ You know you can hack it — but do you really want to? It’s important to decide whether you want to live and work in an environment that may be a good bit rougher than what you would enjoy at home, said Dan Hanlon, senior vice president of human resources for Textron Systems. About 21 percent of the company’s employees are veterans, of whom some 175 serve abroad, providing products and services to defense and homeland security personnel.

If you’re in the field, you may have to relocate at a moment’s notice. Living conditions may be Spartan, and there likely won’t be a megaplex down the block showing the latest Marvel superhero movie.

■ Make the connection for them — and be ready. When you go in to talk to a company about overseas work, you need to be ready to tell relevant stories. Interviewers will ask about the life you’ve lived, your experiences, what you’ve gone through, Hanlon said. That means sharing anecdotes that illustrate flexibility, the ability to adapt to a range of environments and to interact with diverse cultures. It helps to have such stories prepared before applying.

■ Language skills. Obviously, it helps to have at least a minimal grasp of the local language. Contractors won’t necessarily require this, but even a rudimentary linguistic ability can give a candidate an edge. Lang landed his overseas position in part by making the case that his particular skills could best be used in theater. When it comes to logistics, he said, “You have to be there on the ground, where the rubber meets the road. You have to be part of that process. For me, the dividing line is planning versus execution. There is some level of planning that can be done outside the fight, but on the execution side you really need to be there.”

Work abroad can give veterans a sense of being closer to the action. It may create an opportunity to discover a new culture or a new way of living. It likely will take you away from family — spouses usually don’t go along — but the financial reward can be significant. For Americans working abroad, the first $96,000 in income is tax free. That can be a powerful incentive to talk to contractors about the opportunities they offer.

By Adam Stone Special to Military Times