Business Owner From East Haven Gets Prison Term In Fraud Scheme: Feds

EAST HAVEN, CT — An East Haven resident and co-owner of a North Haven business was sentenced to serve time in federal prison in connection with a bid-rigging and fraud scheme, according to officials.

Thomas F. Langan, the co-owner of the insulation contracting firm Langan Insulation LLC, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for his participation in bid-rigging and fraud schemes that targeted public and private entities in Connecticut, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The company, Langan Insulation LLC, was sentenced to pay a $150,000 criminal fine for its role in the schemes. Both defendants were also ordered to pay restitution to their victims, according to officials. These are the first two sentences to arise out of the investigation into the insulation contracting industry, officials said.

According to guilty pleas entered in 2020, the defendants “conspired with other insulation contractors to rig bids and engage in fraud on contracts for installing insulation around pipes and ducts on construction projects at universities, hospitals, and other public and private entities in Connecticut,” officials wrote in the news release.

“The conspiracy ran for nearly seven years, beginning as early as October 2011 and continuing until as late as March 2018," feds said.

Five other individuals and companies have pleaded guilty in connection with the investigation and await sentencing.

“(The) sentences reflect the seriousness of offenses that subvert the competitive process and target public and private institutions,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “We will pursue and hold accountable executives and companies who undermine the competitive process for personal gain and corporate greed.”

U.S. Attorney for Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery said, “As this bid-rigging scheme victimized hospitals, universities, municipalities and businesses throughout Connecticut, the prison term and financial penalties imposed should send a strong message that will deter others from engaging in criminal, anti-competitive behavior. I thank the FBI, DCIS, and the Antitrust Division for their work in bringing the perpetrators of this brazen scheme to justice.”

Langan and Langan Insulation previously pleaded guilty to one count of bid rigging under Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Langan was also ordered to pay a $20,000 criminal fine, restitution in the amount of $480,900 and a special assessment of $800.