Summary

On November 6, 2012, John V. Colona, president and owner of JVC Contracting, Inc. (JVC), pled guilty in U.S. District Court, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to false statements in connection with a payroll and benefits fraud scheme on a $5.2 million FHWA-funded road construction project.  JVC, a highway construction company located in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, resurfaced and repaired highways, roads, and bridges for federal, state, and local authorities.

In March 2003, JVC served as the prime contractor on the DOT-funded project to widen, resurface, and reconstruct approximately 1.6 miles of road in Horsham Township, Pennsylvania.  Mr. Colona admitted that between April 2005 and December 2006, he submitted approximately 40 false certified payroll reports to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), which represented, in part, that JVC paid the union employee fringe benefits.  Based on these fraudulent submissions, PennDOT continued to authorize payments to JVC.  The investigation disclosed that in reality, JVC failed to remit nearly $70,000 in fringe benefits to 33 workers protected by DOT contract requirements.

This was a joint investigation conducted by the DOT-OIG, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)-OIG, DOL-Employee Benefits Security Administration, DOL-Wage and Hour Division, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-OIG.