Prince George’s County Contractor Sued By Maryland A.G.

BOWIE, MD – Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh along with the Washington County Board of Education has filed a lawsuit against J&K Contracting, Inc. and its owner Kyriakos Kiotsekoglou alleging that they violated the Maryland False Claims Act. J&K Contracting’s principal place of business is located in Prince George’s County, but the company regularly conducted business in Washington County.

The Maryland False Claims Act bans the submission of false or fraudulent claims for payment to the government. Violators could be required to pay up to three times the amount of damages sustained by the government along with additional penalties of up to $10,000 per claim. The attorney general’s office is seeking restitution and penalties for J&K Contracting’s alleged violations of the Maryland False Claims Act.

The attorney general’s lawsuit alleges that J&K Contracting violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims for payment for roof replacement projects on two county schools to the Washington County Board of Education that ultimately misrepresented its use of certified, minority-owned businesses to meet the contract’s Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Program participation goals.

According to the complaint, J&K Contracting falsely claimed to have made payments to minority-owned businesses, but when documentation of the payments was requested by the Washington County Board of Education, the company submitted falsified documentation to make it appear as if payments had been made, the attorney general stated in a release.

“We allege that, first, the defendants were deceptive in their contract bid, and, second, in their claims for payment, defendants repeatedly misrepresented the participation of MBE subcontractors and the amount of payments that the subcontractors supposedly received,” Frosh said in a press release. “The False Claims Act flatly prohibits those types of misrepresentations.”

Washington County Board of Education had utilized state appropriations to partially fund the school roof replacement projects. The Interagency Commission on School Construction, along with the Maryland Board of Public Works, approved state funding for the projects. The Interagency Commission requires all contracts funded through the commission to contain MBE participation requirements and comply with the State MBE program. The Washington County Board of Education provided additional funding for the school roof projects.