Troy L. Bechtel, 49, of Overland Park, Kansas, is charged in a federal indictment with two counts of major program fraud against the United States and two counts of lying to federal investigators, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.
The indictment alleges that from August 2009 to April 2013 Bechtel aided and abetted other persons unlawfully to obtain more than $12.7 million from a contract with the Department of Defense.
The indictment alleges Bechtel and other persons falsely represented that United Medical Design Builders, LLC, of Merriam, Kansas, was controlled by co-defendant Joseph David Dial Jr., a disabled veteran of the U.S. Army.
In fact, UMDB was a pass-through company that Dial did not control. The company received a contract through the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business program that was awarded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the design and construction of healthcare facilities at Langley AFB, Andrews AFB, Hanscom AFB and McGuire AFB.
The indictment alleges Bechtel ran the daily operations for UMDB and made project decisions without reporting to or consulting with Dial. Dial was rarely in the office. He also signed a blank sheet of paper that was scanned for use on official letters and correspondence.
Co-defendant Dial pleaded guilty to one count of major program fraud and one count of wire fraud. He is set for sentencing Jan. 28.
If convicted, Bechtel faces up to 10 years in federal prison on each count of defrauding the government and up to five years on each count of lying to investigators, as well as fines and forfeiture judgment representing the amount of proceeds obtained by committing the offenses set out in the indictment.
Investigative agencies include the Small Business Administration – Officer of Inspector General, General Services Administration – Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Army CID Major Procurement Fraud Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tris Hunt is prosecuting.