Investigations

Tarand Transport, Inc., of Land O’Lakes, Florida, one of four defendants involved in Disadvantaged Business Enterprise fraud on an I-4 highway construction project, was fined $60,000 by a U.S. District Court judge, in Tampa, FL. Owners Randy W. and Tammy J. Blankenship were each sentenced to 28 months in prison and $12,500 in fines. Howard L. Glover, of Mulberry, FL, doing business as the certified DBE H.J. Trucking, was sentenced to 14 months in prison and fined $5,000. Glover acted as a front to obtain a subcontract to haul material for the I-4 highway construction project in Hillsborough County, FL, during 1996-1998. The Federal Highway Administration has begun debarment procedures against the defendants. OIG investigated this case with the Florida Department of Transportation’s OIG and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.