A group of four individuals has been indicted on multiple charges of fraud for allegedly using a company owned and operated by service-disabled veterans to obtain a contract for construction of a multi-million dollar cancer center at a Florida VA Medical Center.
The indictment, which was announced last week by the office of United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg of the Middle District of Florida, accuses four conspirators of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and substantive counts of wire fraud: 52-year-old Matthew West of Lantana, Florida; 61-year-old Kevin Kutina of Ramona, California; 58-year-old Roberto Gonzalez of Palmetto Bay, Florida; and 51-year-old William Gonzalez of Orlando.
According to the indictment, in July 2016, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs issued a request for bid proposals for a contract to construct a 14,909 square-foot Cancer Infusion Therapy Center at Bay Pines VA Medical Center in Pinellas County.
The contract, which was valued between $5 million and $10 million, called for the company to augment the Bay Pines VA Medical Center’s existing radiation oncology clinic. The modifications were sought to enable VA health care providers to treat more veterans diagnosed with various types of cancer in “an environment that was accessible and patient-centered,” reads a statement from Handberg’s office.
The contract required that only bids from qualified, service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses be considered.
The conspirators allegedly utilized Maxon Groupe, LLC, a company owned and operated by service-disabled veteran Roberto Gonzalez and William Gonzalez, to submit a bid with false statements and omissions in order to be awarded the contract.
According to the indictment, the conspirators falsely represented that qualified employees from a separate company, Kevcon, Inc., which is owned and operated by Kutina, would serve in supervisory roles. The conspirators failed to disclose to the VA that Maxon Groupe, LLC was a “pass-through” for West’s company, West Construction, Inc., which managed all the work for the contract and received most of the payments.
Authorities say that West Construction, Inc. was not eligible for the set-aside contract and that.
According to the indictment, as a result of the alleged false statements and omissions within the bid proposal, the VA awarded the contract to Maxon Groupe, LLC.
In total, the U.S. Treasury allegedly paid Maxon approximately $4.8 million between March 2017 and January 2019. During the same period, approximately $4.2 million of those funds were transferred to West, who in turn transferred approximately $1.1 million to Kutina’s company.
If convicted, the men face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each of the conspiracy and wire fraud counts, and a maximum of 10 years in prison on the major fraud against the United States count. The indictment also indicates that the U.S. intends to seize $4,835,035, which represents the proceeds of the criminal conduct.