A Luthersville man has been indicted on federal fraud charges after obtaining federal contracts reserved for service-disabled veterans. Sixty-two-year-old Arthur Wayne Singleton was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Russell G. Vineyard in the Nov. 10 proceeding in connection to 14 counts of wire fraud and one count of major fraud against the United States.
“This defendant allegedly took advantage of a service-disabled veteran of the Vietnam War, using the veteran’s name and disabled status to gain millions of dollars in federal contracts. Fraud like this deprives legitimate disabled veteran-owned small businesses of the opportunity to enter into construction contracts with the government, said U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates.”
Yates said Singleton has 30 years of construction experience and was the owner of Singleton Enterprises.
“In 2007 he approached a Vietnam War veteran who was bedridden from multiple surgeries related to his war injuries, and proposed the idea of starting a joint venture that would use the veteran’s disabled status to obtain federal government contracts that are set aside for companies with majority ownership by service-disabled veterans. When the veteran agreed to help, Singleton formed ‘GMT Mechanical’ and ‘GMT Mechanical – Singleton Enterprises – a Joint Venture,’ using the veteran’s name,” Yates said.
Yates said the indictment alleges that for a one-year period beginning in September 2007 Singleton entered into contracts with the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Agriculture, the United States Coast Guard, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers to perform construction work around the country.
“Singleton used the veteran’s status to bid on the contracts, all of which were reserved for small businesses owned and operated by service-disabled veterans,” said Yates. ”However, Singleton allegedly knew that GMT Mechanical and the purported Joint Venture were ineligible for the contracts, since the veteran performed no work for either company, did not have an ownership stake, and did not control the management or daily operations of either business. Singleton received approximately $2.85 million from February 2008 through May 2010 for performing on the fraudulently-obtained contracts.”
Yates said the 14 counts of wire fraud each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years and a fine of up to $250,000 while the count of major fraud carries a maximum sentence of 10 years and a fine of up to $1 million.
Yates reminded members of the public that the indictment only contains charges, adding that it will be the government’s burden to prove Singleton’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
