US-based Guyanese charged for awarding Govt. contracts to his own companies

Jan 06, 2010 News

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Another Guyanese living in the United States has found himself before a New York judge on corruption-related charges.
Dave Balgobin, a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement employee was arrested several weeks ago in connection with his improper awarding of government contracts to companies he controlled.
The Guyana-born Balgobin, 49, of Queens, New York, is charged with one count of violating the federal conflict of interest statute, which carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison.
Balgobin’s arrest was confirmed by Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Gregory K. Null, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the United States Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General for the Northeast (“DHS-OIG”).
The matter came to light when an intrepid employee of the Office of Acquisition Management noticed Balgobin’s computer listing on a document from one of the named contractors, regarding the provision of services.
According to the Complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, since December 2001, Balgobin has been employed by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) and/or its predecessor agency, U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”).
He worked as a Purchasing Agent for ICE from 2001 until 2006, when he was promoted to Mission Support Specialist in the Detention and Removal Office in New York, (the ICE-DRO Field Office).
The Immigration Customs Enforce-Detention Removal Office is responsible for housing ICE detainees in deportation proceedings.
In his capacity as a Mission Support Specialist, Balgobin authorizes the ICE-DRO Field Office to enter into contracts for certain goods and services.
In May 2008, the Department of Homeland Security – Office of Inspector General was contacted by employees at the Office of Acquisition Management (OAM) in Washington, D.C. regarding a requisition for a contract for courier services in the ICE-DRO Field Office.
As detailed in the requisition, the courier service contract for ICE-DRO’s Field Office had been awarded to a company called Countrywide Office Solutions (Countrywide), which had a quoted price that was substantially lower than the other two quotes.
The ICE-DRO contact for the contract requisition was Balgobin.
Concerned about the substantial price disparity between the vendors, an OAM employee unsuccessfully attempted to contact a representative of Countrywide.
After failing to reach anyone at Countrywide, the OAM Employee called Balgobin, who told the OAM Employee that Countrywide was having phone problems, but that he would pass the message along. Balgobin added that a countrywide employee was presently working at the ICE-DRO Field Office on another project.
Shortly after speaking with Balgobin, the OAM Employee received a call and an e-mail message from a person who identified himself as a Countrywide Employee; however, the e-mail message was preceded by the typewritten name “Dave Balgobin”.
When contacted again by OAM, Balgobin claimed that this link appeared because he allowed the employee to send the e-mail to OAM from his computer.
Concerned about the possible connection between Countrywide and Dave Balgobin, the OAM Employee conducted a further inquiry and determined that a second contractor that provides janitorial services to ICE-DRO (called “Aroma Scientific Corporation”) listed the same contact name and business address as Countrywide.
In addition, the telephone number for both Countrywide and Aroma Scientific Corporation was affiliated with individuals with the last name Balgobin.
Through this investigation, DHS-OIG determined that Dave Balgobin is an authorized signatory on the checking accounts for both Countrywide and Aroma Scientific Corporation, as well as a third business, Aromed Corporation, that has a contract with the ICE¬DRO Field Office to provide clothing for ICE detainees.
On or about November 19, 2009, DHS-OIG agents interviewed Balgobin, who acknowledged that he was the sole contracting officer at the ICE-DRO Field Office, and stated that his wife ran the daily operations of Countrywide, Aroma Scientific Corporation, and Aromed.
He admitted that all three companies provide goods and services to the ICE-DRO Field Office, which is the companies’ sole client.
Balgobin stated that he had a conflict of interest because he was not supposed to have a “government-business relationship” with family members.
He also admitted that he never disclosed a conflict of interest with Countrywide, Aroma Scientific Corporation, and/or Aromed Corporation during the course of his employment with ICE or INS.
Balgobin surrendered to federal agents in Queens, New York, earlier this week and was subsequently presented before a judge.
The US Southern District Attorney Preet Bharara praised the work of the Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Inspector General.
He said that “Dave Balgobin was entrusted with awarding government contracts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to the lowest responsible bidder. Instead, Balgobin awarded them to himself. Working with our partners in law enforcement, we will continue to fight public corruption and waste of taxpayer funds by prosecuting self-dealing employees like Balgobin, whose conflicts corrupt their agencies’ procurement process.”

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