A Georgia man used a bedridden disabled Vietnam War veteran’s identity to obtain about $2.85 million in fraudulent federal contracts, the U.S. attorney's office said Thursday.
Arthur Wayne Singleton, 62, of Luthersville in south Georgia faces multiple wire fraud charges and one count of major fraud against the U.S. government.
If convicted on all charges, he could face up to 30 years in prison and fines of more than $1 million.
“Fraud like this deprives legitimate disabled veteran-owned small businesses of the opportunity to enter into construction contracts with the government,” U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said in a statement.
Yates said Singleton, 62, allegedly used a disabled veteran’s name and disability status to get contracts set aside for companies with majority ownership by service-disabled veterans.
The prosecutor said Singleton, who has 30 years of experience in construction, persuaded a Vietnam War veteran who had undergone multiple surgeries and was bedridden to start a joint venture using the vet’s disability status to get federal contracts. The veteran, however, had no ownership in the companies nor did he work for them.
Singleton allegedly formed “GMT Mechanical” and “GMT Mechanical – Singleton Enterprises – a Joint Venture” in 2007 and knowingly entered fraudulent contracts to do construction work around the country for the departments of Veterans Affairs and Agriculture, the Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers.
From February 2008 through May 2010, Singleton allegedly received about $2.85 million in federal contracts.
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