Investigation of Possible Kickback in a National Park Service Contract

We investigated allegations that a prime contractor’s employee working on a National Park Service (NPS) contract may have received kickbacks from a subcontractor. The owner of the prime contractor disclosed that he fired the project manager on the NPS contract, alleging that the project manager hired a company that she or a relative owned to perform subcontract work on the NPS project, and that the project manager profited from her relationship with the subcontractor. 

 

After conducting several interviews and reviewing various public and Government records, we did not find any familial relationship between the project manager and the subcontractor; the project manager and the subcontractor owner acknowledged that they shared a common surname. They both denied receiving or providing money or anything of value in exchange for the subcontract. In addition, our review of bank records found no evidence of illegal payments from the subcontractor to the project manager.