Orlando, Florida, based Air Ideal Inc. and its majority owner, Kim Amkraut, have agreed to pay the United States $250,000 to resolve allegations that they made false statements to the Small Business Administration (SBA) to obtain certification as a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) company, the Justice Department announced today. Under the settlement, the defendants must also pay five percent of Air Ideal’s gross revenues over the next five years.
“When companies falsely claim eligibility for government contracts set aside for HUBZone businesses, they not only misuse taxpayer funds, but they also deprive HUBZone communities of the benefits of the program,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This settlement shows that there is a stiff price to pay for obtaining government contracts through false statements.”
“The HUBZone program is an important tool in the government’s effort to strengthen our economy by encouraging businesses to grow in underutilized and disadvantaged areas,” said U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida. “We will not tolerate contractors who use deception to undermine its objectives and effectiveness.”
The purpose of the HUBZone program is to stimulate job growth in areas that have historically had low business investment. Under the HUBZone program, companies that maintain their principal office in a designated HUBZone and meet certain other...
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