SALT LAKE CITY — An Arizona business owner found guilty in Utah of making false claims to the government in order to obtain a $99 million contract will serve federal prison time and forfeit over $2 million from multiple bank accounts, district court records show.
Whitney McBride, 41, of Queen Creek, Arizona, was found guilty in June of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, major fraud against the United States, and making false statements to federal law enforcement and to the court.
She was sentenced on Nov. 18 to 30 months in federal prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release, according to court records. She was also ordered to forfeit $2,271,841.16 from seven bank accounts.
Her company, Odyssey International Inc., was fined $5 million, according to court records.
McBride and Odyssey International were initially accused of fraudulently claiming a special status under the Small Business Administration in order to bid on a contract to work at the Fort Drum military base in New York, according to a news release from the Utah U.S. Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors described McBride as Odyssey’s founder and owner.
A superseding indictment from October accused McBride and the company of carrying out a scheme to obtain contracts through the SBA set aside for businesses in “historically underutilized business zones,” or HUB zones. Often the areas that qualify as HUB zones include Native American reservations and areas with a closed military base, the news release says.
In order...
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