There are not enough hours in the days to track the fraud of every DoD contractor. But thanks to Ms Sparky readers they keep me informed. The 16,OOO percent I referred to in the post title is the mark up charged for the bag of 10 washers. Let me know if I did the math wrong!!
Audit finds Iraq contractor overbilled for vehicle parts
By Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 30, 2009
A defense contractor that supplied vehicle parts for the Iraqi army sought reimbursements from the U.S. military far in excess of the cost of the items, according to a new report by the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction.
The contractor, Aecom Government Services, charged $237 for a vehicle side mirror that was supposed to cost $14.88, according to the report. The company also submitted invoices to the U.S. military in Iraq seeking reimbursements of $196.50 for a bag of 10 washers that was supposed to cost $1.22, $10 for a fuse that should have cost 45 cents and $210 for an inner tube that was supposed to cost $24.09.
Aecom officials disputed the allegations, telling auditors that the overcharging was the result of “billing errors” that “occurred early in the contract,” according to the report, scheduled for release Friday. The company said that “cumulative adjustments were made.”
Paul J. Gennaro, a senior vice president of Aecom, said Thursday that the company had “self-identified and corrected” the issues, “making an immediate repayment over two years ago — to the client’s satisfaction.”
Stuart W. Bowen Jr., the special inspector general, said in the report that the findings point to larger issues with government contracts issued for work in Iraq. Preliminary audits of 22,000 Defense Department transactions involving about $10.7 billion have identified not just overpayments by the government, but also duplicate payments, as well as payments to fictitious vendors and addresses.
The preliminary findings have prompted a decision to examine all financial transactions related to the major U.S. programs in Iraq — spending that totaled $35.2 billion as of Sept. 30, 2008. The report said particular attention will be paid to programs “that afford easy access to cash,” such as the military’s $3.6 billion Commander’s Emergency Response Program.
Aecom Government Services’ contract called for it to buy repair parts for Iraqi military units as part of a program to make the units self-sufficient in logistics. The firm won the contract based in part on the per-item unit price it quoted, plus an allowable markup.
Bowen’s auditors reviewed four of 139 invoices Aecom submitted for repayment from July 2005 to September 2009; they totaled $29.9 million. From those, the audit identified “about $4.1 million in potential overbillings.”
The auditors disputed assertions that Aecom had repaid the government in full. In an interview, Daniel Kopp, a spokesman for Bowen, cited the case of the washers.
“Based on the documentation Aecom provided us, they’ve never reimbursed the government for the washers,” he said.
Contractors such as Aecom have their invoices reviewed by Army Contracting Command personnel in Rock Island, Ill. But Bowen’s auditors found that the command “did not have enough experienced personnel to review invoices thoroughly, leaving the U.S. government vulnerable to undetected overcharges.” Over time, additional personnel were transferred to Rock Island, and the review process improved. Thereafter, the contracting office “denied payment of as much as 33% from invoices, compared to only 0.1% from invoices prior to that time,” the report said.
On its Web site this month, Aecom Government Services announced a $78.8 million six-month extension of its contract with the U.S. Army to support operations in Afghanistan, which entails providing general support maintenance and running maintenance facilities at two military bases as well as forward operating bases and satellite locations. The Los Angeles-based parent company, Aecom, provides worldwide technical and management services and reported $6.1 billion in revenue for the year ending June 30, with operations in more than 100 countries. (click HERE for original article)
AECOM wins US$10.5-million task order from U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center
2009-11-16 00:00:00.0
AECOM announces that it has won a US$10.5-million task order to provide energy-efficiency services at a U.S. Navy facility in San Diego.
LOS ANGELES, Nov 16, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) — AECOM Technology Corporation (NYSE: ACM), a leading provider of professional technical and management support services for government and commercial clients around the world, announced today that it has won a US$10.5-million task order to provide energy-efficiency services at a U.S. Navy facility in San Diego.
The work, which will include a base-wide lighting retrofit, construction of two new ultra-efficient central chilled water plants, expansion of the existing energy-management-control system and the installation of a photovoltaic system, will be conducted under AECOM’s indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract with the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center.
The contract has a maximum value of US$50 million and allows AECOM to compete for design-build, energy-efficiency and renewable-energy projects at any federal facility within the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories and possessions.
When complete, the project is expected to reduce the facility’s annual utility consumption by 4.7 million kilowatt hours, 48,000 therms, and 10.3 million gallons of water, resulting in annual utility, operations and maintenance cost savings of more than US$900,000. The project will also eliminate more than 3,600 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year.
About AECOM
AECOM (NYSE: ACM) is a global provider of professional technical and management support services to a broad range of markets, including transportation, facilities, environmental, energy, water and government. With approximately 45,000 employees around the world, AECOM is a leader in all of the key markets that it serves. AECOM provides a blend of global reach, local knowledge, innovation, and technical excellence in delivering solutions that enhance and sustain the world’s built, natural, and social environments. A Fortune 500 company, AECOM serves clients in more than 100 countries and had revenue of $6.1 billion during its fiscal year 2009. More information on AECOM and its services can be found at www.aecom.com.
Forward-Looking Statements: All statements in this press release other than statements of historical fact are “forward-looking statements” for purposes of federal and state securities laws, including any statements of plans for future operations or expected revenue. Actual results could differ materially from those projected or assumed in any of our forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements are set forth in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2009, and our other reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. AECOM does not intend, and undertakes no obligation, to update any forward-looking statement.
NR 09-1104
SOURCE: AECOM Technology Corporation
AECOMPaul GennaroSVP & Chief Communications Officer212-973-3167Paul.Gennaro@aecom.com
(Click HERE for original article)
One would think if the Army Contracting Command didn’t have enough experienced personnel to review invoices thoroughly and this was leaving the U.S. government vulnerable to undetected overcharges that they would get the experienced personnel. Increase wages if necessary. If not…just fire EVERYONE in the ACC and contract it out.
Ms Sparky
Other Related Posts From Ms Sparky
- US “fugitives from justice” awarded $150M Defence contract in UK
- KBR’s LOGCAP III contract extended in Iraq LOGCAP IV task orders canceled
- KBR awarded $2.3B LOGCAP IV task order in Iraq after poor performance evaluation (updated 02/28/2010)
- Woman awarded $3M in assault claim against KBR
- KBR will not protest LOGCAP IV contract awards in Afghanistan
Seems to me that the industries providing these goods and services needs some true competition – a company along the pricing lines of “WalMart” and “Macy’s”, not like some store on “Rodeo Drive” in California.
Wish I knew someone who wanted to go into this type of business with me, who had the financial backing, who has ethics, morals, who believes in “GOD”, a person who is not Greedy.
I understand making a profit – but the prices mentioned above reminds me of the $600 toilet seat, that the taxpayers had to pay years ago.
Does anyone have any info on how AECOM is to work for? Do they pay on time, treat their employees with respect, etc.?
They have a terrible REP.here in albany ga..the employees are overworked and underpaid..they took over a contract here and reduced almost everyone’s pay anywhere from 1-5 $ per hour..benefits are terrible…almost not worth it…but gotta feed the family…!
AECOM=A EMPLOYER CENTERED ON MONEY. . .
AECOM laid off approximately 350 of their employees at the Albany, GA site just weeks before Christmas, only to rehire them in February. They devise ridiculous safety regulations, not because they are concerned about their employees safety, but because they don’t want to pay the fines imposed by OSHA for safety violations. AECOM is also a greedy monster of a corporation, forcing employees to work “voluntary yet mandatory” overtime in excess of 60 hours per week to bail AECOM out of their underbid contract. They constantly comprise and devise new rules and pick and choose how and upon whom to enforce their penalties. The rules in print in the SOP are not the same rules that the managers instruct the team leads to enforce. Every bulletin distributed to the employees contradicts itself and the SOP. AECOM actually sent a memo out to all employees stating that the employees are required to furnish their own personal protective equipment, which AECOM requires the employees to wear i.e. safety glasses, hard hats, ear plugs, etc. It seems that itself is an OSHA violation. . . AECOM does not and currently has no plans to match any 401K contributions, offers sub par, unsatisfactory and sub standard “benefits”, they refuse to give bonuses or raises and any attempts to unionize will be grounds for termination. After one year of employment with AECOM, they generously give their employees 2 days of “use or lose” paid sick leave and 2 weeks of paid leave, however to utilize the acrued leave, the employee has to submit the leave request no less than 48 hours in advance as well as present their most recent pay stub to verify their leave balance.
The overall situation is that with employment being at such a high rate in south Georgia, AECOM essentially took over the defense contract and they decided that everyone in Albany would be so elated to actually be employed, that they could do whatever they wanted to the employees with minimal or even no resistance.
Aecom can not make you pay for your own PPE that is mandated by law. This Georgia location in in OSHA Region 4 Contact them ASAP.
OSHA Region 4 Office
61 Forsyth Street, SW
Room 6T50
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
(404) 562-2300
(404) 562-2295 FAX
Here’s the link to file a complaint. http://www.osha.gov/as/opa/worker/complain.html Ask for an investigation.
If Georgia has State safety program contact them too.
I found out for myself the hard way…They’re even worse than KBR, if you can believe that!
In the pecking order of contactors hiring tradesmen, from worse to better:
AECOM
KBR
DynaCorp
Fluor
Stay away from AECOM! Bad management, especially at the PM and DPM level…you’re just boots on the ground to screw the US taxpayer. They brag that their make up will eventually be 70% Indian and 30% ex-pat (it’s now about 50/50); the Indians don’t complain and are more malliable than the Yanks. The US taxpayer is getting hosed again, because not one dime of an Indian’s salary will be used in the US, while the ex-pat’s pay will indeed “stimulate” the economy while keeping the worker off of food stamps.
My hubby just got his first AECOM pay check, it was in when it was supposed to be and about 29% more than he was making with KBR last year. Also, we have four kids, one with autism. So far, the medical insurance has been wonderful. All of our doctors take it, I don’t need a referral for a specialist and I’ve spoken with another spouse who has had it for a while and she said she has never had any problems with it. Also, it’s a lot cheaper than KBR, by more than half. Hubby was issued Dickies work clothes and Converse boots by AECOM, has had no problems taking care of things over there that needed to be done. All of his pre employment medical and dental was covered by AECOM up front and he got $500 for food/transportation for his 2 days in Texas, that was NOT an advance like KBR does. It cost us a ton to get his ready to leave with KBR and NOTHING with AECOM. He’s much happier with the management at AECOM than he ever was with KBR.
That is so nice to hear! I was beginning to think there was no contractor out there worth a task order. Keep us posted.
Which medical plan did your husband pick i have Vanbreda and so far the doctors we have spoken to here in tennessee do not take it. please let me know.