On September 21, 2016, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) debarred Kenneth Hardin for 3 years. The debarment stems from Hardin’s conviction in Federal District Court, Denver, Colorado. On February 3, 2016, a Federal jury found Hardin guilty of soliciting, demanding, and accepting four bribes totaling $5,100 with the intent to influence federally funded contracts. He was sentenced to 18 months’ incarceration followed by 3 years of supervised release. 

 

In 2014, FTA provided an estimated $218 million in grants to Colorado Regional Transportation District, where Hardin was a senior manager in the Civil Rights Division. His duties included overseeing compliance with DOT’s DBE program, directing regulatory compliance, investigating complaints, community outreach, and program strategy development. 

 

DOT-OIG is conducting this investigation jointly with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. 

 

Note: Exclusion actions (suspensions and debarments) are frequently for a specific period of time and the System for Award Management (sam.gov) should be consulted to find out whether a company is currently excluded.