United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy | U.S. Department of Justice
S.A.F.E. Structure Designs, U.S.A. Manufacturing, and their owner, Johnny Buscema Jr., have agreed to a $1 million settlement over allegations of submitting fraudulent bids under the False Claims Act. The allegations involve contracts with the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), part of the Department of Defense (DoD).
The companies involved are S.A.F.E. Structure, based in Las Vegas, Nevada, which sells safety equipment, and USA Manufacturing, a general construction company based in Port Richey, Florida. Both companies are owned by Buscema.
These businesses were vendors for Noble Sales Co., Inc., operating as Noble Supply & Logistics, a Boston-based prime contractor for DLA's Maintenance, Repair, and Operations (MRO) contracts covering the Northeast and Southeast regions. Under these contracts, the DoD places orders through Noble, which is required to solicit competitive bids from two vendors for transactions below $25,000 and three vendors for those at or above $25,000.
According to the settlement agreement, from 2014 to 2023, Buscema coordinated with Noble and other vendors to submit what they termed "courtesy bids" or "comps." These were bids submitted without any intention of winning business but instead served to fulfill bid requirements while ensuring that other vendors won the contracts. It was admitted that Buscema paid other vendors to submit such courtesy bids so that his companies could win business.
The United States claims these actions resulted in false claims under the MRO contracts and led to increased costs for the DoD.
United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy commented on the situation: “As evidenced in this settlement agreement, these contractors gamed the system to line their own pockets. They manipulated and undermined the fair and open bidding process designed to save our military – and taxpayers – money.”
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton stated: “Those who seek to do business with the government are expected to compete fairly and independently to ensure that the government receives an appropriate price.”
Patrick J. Hegarty from the DoD’s Office of Inspector General highlighted their commitment: “Today’s announcement demonstrates our commitment to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate allegations of anticompetitive practices.”
Keith K. Kelly from the Department of Army Criminal Investigation Division emphasized ongoing efforts: “CID is committed to providing expertise and capabilities supporting whole-of-government efforts.”
Joseph Dattoria from GSA OIG added: “GSA OIG remains committed to working closely with its law enforcement partners to protect American taxpayer dollars.”
This case was managed by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian LaMacchia and Lindsey Ross for Massachusetts District along with Trial Attorney Samson Asiyanbi from the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
