Government Contractor Pleads Guilty to Providing False Information to Federal Agencies to Procure Contracts

WASHINGTON—Theodoros N. Hallas, 39, of Potomac, Md., the former executive vice president of operations for Nova Datacom, LLC, has pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr.; James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Peggy E. Gustafson, Inspector General for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), Brian D. Miller, Inspector General for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA); and Michael S. Barcus, Special Agent in Charge for the Washington Region of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General - Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations.

The investigation involving Hallas led investigators to uncover the alleged bribery, kickback, and money laundering scheme that resulted in the arrests on October 4, 2011 of two employees of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Michael A. Alexander and Kerry F. Khan.

Hallas pled guilty on October 13, 2011 before the Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan. Sentencing has not been scheduled.

In connection with the guilty plea by Hallas, and as set forth in the executed statement of offense, Hallas acknowledged that he was the executive vice president of Nova Datacom, a provider of information assurance and security services to federal agencies and commercial companies with headquarters in Chantilly, Va.

Hallas also acknowledged that he agreed to provide a former colleague, Rajesh Kumar Malik, also known as Roger Malik, with false past performance references and evaluations. At the time, Malik was executive vice president of MED Trends, Inc., a health care information technology consulting company with a virtual office in Rockville, Md.

The false references and evaluations were to burnish the qualifications of MED Trends Inc., to perform federal contracts and to grow the federal contracting business for MED Trends.

Hallas agreed to allow Malik to represent falsely to federal agencies that Hallas’s employers, including Nova Datacom, had contractual relationships with MED Trends. Hallas agreed, for example, that he knowingly provided a false reference to MED Trends to assist MED Trends in competing for a contract with the U.S. Department of Labor. According to the charges, Hallas’s actions resulted in MED Trends winning the contract awarded by the Department of Labor in April 2010, valued with all options at more than $20 million.

Upon joining Nova Datacom, Hallas agreed that he employed a similar strategy of using Malik and others to provide false past performance references to burnish the qualifications of Nova Datacom to perform federal contracts and to grow the federal contracting business for Nova Datacom. According to the charges, Malik agreed to allow Hallas to represent falsely to federal agencies that MED Trends had contractual relationships with Nova Datacom.

“This case demonstrates our steadfast commitment to root out and prosecute those who commit fraud in our federal contracting process,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “We want to thank our law enforcement partners for their tireless efforts in combating contract fraud.”

“The guilty plea of Theodoros Hallas is another victory for taxpayers,” said Inspector General Gustafson of the SBA. ” Mr. Hallas’s actions denied federal contracts to businesses that deserved such opportunities, including small businesses owned by service-disabled veterans. With our interagency partners, SBA OIG will continue to pursue those who defraud the government by lying in order to gain access to federal set-aside contracts.”

“Contractors cannot lie about their past and size to get federal contracts and expect to get away with it,” said GSA Inspector General Miller.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office; the Office of the Inspector General for the Small Business Administration; the Labor Department’s Office of Inspector General - Washington Regional Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations; the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. General Services Administration; and the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Atkinson and Bryan Seeley of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Saler and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Dana of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section. Assistance also was provided by Forensic Accountant Maria Boodoo; Paralegal Specialists Tasha Harris, Shanna Hays, Taryn McLaughlin, and Sarah Reis; and Legal Assistants Jared Forney, Krishawn Graham, Jessica McCormick, and Nicole Wattelet.