HomeFairfax General ForumArrest/Ticket SearchWiki newPictures/VideosChatArticlesLinksAbout
Fairfax County General :  Fairfax Underground fairfax underground logo
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
8th person pleads in $30M NASA contract fraud
Posted by: Rent A. Minority ()
Date: June 10, 2013 04:29AM

There must be a playbook these crooks pass around, how to commit fraud using minority fronts in the SBA 8a progam.


By MATTHEW BARAKAT

The Associated Press

ALEXANDRIA, Va. —

An eighth person pleaded guilty Thursday to his role in a $30 million fraud and bribery scheme that duped NASA into awarding contracts to companies that falsely claimed eligibility for preferences granted to minority-owned businesses.

Michael Dunkel, 59, of Merritt Island, Fla., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Alexandria to fraud for illegally receiving more than $4.4 million in government payments. Dunkel falsely claimed he was an employee of an Arlington-based company that received contract preferences through a Small Business Administration program.

In reality, Dunkel simply paid a kickback to the Arlington company so it would pass the work through to him.

http://www.kirotv.com/news/ap/florida/8th-person-pleads-in-30m-nasa-contract-fraud/nX2HX/

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: 8th person pleads in $30M NASA contract fraud
Posted by: Government Watch ()
Date: June 10, 2013 09:06AM

Rent A. Minority Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There must be a playbook these crooks pass around,
> how to commit fraud using minority fronts in the
> SBA 8a progam.
>
>
> By MATTHEW BARAKAT
>
> The Associated Press
>
> ALEXANDRIA, Va. —
>
> An eighth person pleaded guilty Thursday to his
> role in a $30 million fraud and bribery scheme
> that duped NASA into awarding contracts to
> companies that falsely claimed eligibility for
> preferences granted to minority-owned businesses.
>
> Michael Dunkel, 59, of Merritt Island, Fla.,
> pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in
> Alexandria to fraud for illegally receiving more
> than $4.4 million in government payments. Dunkel
> falsely claimed he was an employee of an
> Arlington-based company that received contract
> preferences through a Small Business
> Administration program.
>
> In reality, Dunkel simply paid a kickback to the
> Arlington company so it would pass the work
> through to him.
>
> http://www.kirotv.com/news/ap/florida/8th-person-p
> leads-in-30m-nasa-contract-fraud/nX2HX/

From the office of the Nasa Inspector General
http://oig.nasa.gov/investigations/pressRelease.html

•Government Contractor Pleads Guilty to Major Fraud
2013-G - Press Release [May 23, 2013]
Michael Dunkel, of Merritt Island, Florida pled guilty to fraudulently obtaining more than $4.4 million in government contracts intended for disadvantaged small businesses.

•Former Government Official Pleads Guilty to Accepting Bribes from Contractor
2013-F - Press Release [April 11, 2013]
Derek Matthews, a former Deputy Assistant Director for Operations for the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Protective Services pled guilty to accepting bribes from a government contractor.

•Defendants Indicted For Defrauding NASA and NSF
2013-E - Press Release [March 29, 2013]
US Attorney Melinda Haag announced the indictment of two individuals from a San Jose-based research company for wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
•NASA Contractor Pleads Guilty to Theft

2013-D - Press Release [March 27, 2013]
Brandon Scott Gauss, 28, of Preston, Maryland pled guilty to theft of government property for stealing and selling tools and aluminum scaffolding from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

•Security Contractors Plead Guilty to Fraud
2013-C - Press Release [March 18, 2013]
Five executives from an Arlington-based security service consulting company in Virginia pled guilty to fraud or conspiracy to commit fraud for illegally obtaining over $31 million in government contracts intended for disadvantaged small businesses.

•Three Alleged International Cyber Criminals Charged
2013-B - Press Release [January 23, 2013]
US Attorney Preet Bharara announced the unsealing of Indictments against three individuals who played critical roles in creating and distributing a virus that steals personal bank account information, including usernames and passwords, from the users of affected computers. The virus infected over one million computers globally, including some at NASA.

•Florida’s Technological Research and Development Authority and the Melbourne Airport Authority Pay $19 million to Resolve False Claims Allegations
2013-A - Press Release [November 20, 2012]
Florida’s Technological Research and Development Authority has agreed to pay $15 million and the Melbourne Airport Authority $4 million to resolve allegations that they misused grant funds received from NASA and the Department of Commerce. The funds were used to construct an office building at the airport, which the government alleged was outside the scope of and contrary to the terms of the grants.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: 8th person pleads in $30M NASA contract fraud
Posted by: Insider ()
Date: June 10, 2013 10:32AM

This whole program needs to be shut down. It is criminal that someone who immigrates here from another country should be given preference in contract awards over someone born in the United States. How is that fair or reasonable or in the best interest of either our citizens or our government?

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: 8th person pleads in $30M NASA contract fraud
Posted by: it is all fraud I tell you ()
Date: June 10, 2013 10:48AM

These people should stick to contracting for Fairfax County. Ed Long handed out millions for a SAP system that doesn't work. The trick is to pretend to do the work, or even try to do the work and fail. They can get you for fraud but not incompetence.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: 8th person pleads in $30M NASA contract fraud
Posted by: Peter2015 ()
Date: October 22, 2014 04:24PM

The interesting thing is that this individual has a previous conviction for sexual assault in Minnesota around 1989. He lost his appeal in 1991. Google "Mchael Brian Dunkel" and a site called Leagle.com will appear in the search.

So a guy with a previous conviction is able to get a NASA contract. I guess NASA does not have a screening process for background.

I'm surprised he didn't get longer than 5 years. They wanted to put him in jail for 7 years.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: 8th person pleads in $30M NASA contract fraud
Posted by: Peter2015 ()
Date: October 22, 2014 04:25PM

Here's the link for that appeal case:

www.leagle.com/decision/1991891466NW2d425_1872.xml/STATE%20v.%20DUNKEL

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: 8th person pleads in $30M NASA contract fraud
Posted by: kate76 ()
Date: October 24, 2014 11:57AM

Peter2015, how can I find the information you mentioned in your post? It is not coming up for me at all.

Options: ReplyQuote


Your Name: 
Your Email (Optional): 
Subject: 
Attach a file
  • No file can be larger than 75 MB
  • All files together cannot be larger than 300 MB
  • 30 more file(s) can be attached to this message
Spam prevention:
Please, enter the code that you see below in the input field. This is for blocking bots that try to post this form automatically.
 **    **  ********   ******    ******   ********  
  **  **   **        **    **  **    **  **     ** 
   ****    **        **        **        **     ** 
    **     ******    **        **        ********  
    **     **        **        **        **        
    **     **        **    **  **    **  **        
    **     ********   ******    ******   **        
This forum powered by Phorum.