Four Indicted for $5M Florida Fraud in VA Construction Scandal
Four people have been indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and major fraud against the United States in connection with a multi-million dollar construction contract in Florida.
The conspirators — Matthew West, Kevin Kutina, Roberto Gonzalez, and William Gonzalez — are accused of using Maxon Groupe, owned by service-disabled military veterans Roberto Gonzalez and William Gonzalez, to submit a fraudulent bid to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The indictment alleges that in July 2016, the federal agency issued a bid request for the construction of the Cancer Infusion Therapy Center at Bay Pines VA Medical Center in Pinellas County, Florida, according to a Department of Justice press release. The contract, valued between $5 million and $10 million, was set aside for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.
The indictments allege the foursome falsely represented that qualified employees from Kevcon, Inc., owned by Kutina, would serve in supervisory roles, failing to disclose Maxon’s pass-through role for West’s company, West Construction, Inc.
West Construction, Inc. was ineligible for a contract reserved for a service-disabled veteran-owned small business.
Between March 2017 and January 2019, the conspirators submitted invoices for payment, resulting in the U.S. Treasury paying Maxon approximately $4.8 million. Subsequently, around $4.2 million of those funds were transferred to West, with about $1.1 million being further transferred to Kevcon, according to law enforcement.
If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy and wire fraud charges, and a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment for the major fraud against the United States count.
The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of at least $5 million, representing the proceeds of the alleged criminal conduct.
It’s hardly the only real estate-related fraud case in Florida. The Miami agent who the federal government said misused hundreds of thousands of dollars in pandemic relief money to lease her white Bentley Bentayga, rent a luxury apartment, refinish her designer shoes and have cosmetic procedures was sentenced to prison in August.
Daniela Rendon was indicted in February on two counts of money laundering, seven counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. In April she pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. The other charges were dismissed.
She was sentenced to three years and five months in prison, followed by three years of probation and ordered to pay nearly $200,000 in restitution.
Rendon allegedly falsified her revenue, payroll and IRS tax forms on fraudulent applications for Covid-19 federal relief funds to the Small Business Administration and Paycheck Protection Program during the pandemic.
