Former CEO Charged in Schemes to Defraud U.S. Government Related to the Conflict in Afghanistan

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The former Chief Executive Officer of a U.S. government contractor was charged today in connection with schemes to defraud the U.S. Department of Defense regarding contracts related to U.S. military efforts in Afghanistan.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona of the Northern District of Alabama, Special Inspector General John F. Sopko for Afghanistan Reconstruction, and Director Frank Robey of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit made the announcement.           

Paul Daigle, 40, was charged with conspiracy, four counts of wire fraud, and four counts of false claims in an indictment filed today in the Northern District of Alabama.  Daigle was the CEO of a company based in Huntsville, Alabama, which served as a subcontractor on U.S. Department of Defense aviation contracts related to the war in Afghanistan.

According to the indictment, between 2013 and 2017, Daigle allegedly engaged in two fraudulent schemes that resulted in the submission of false claims to the U.S. Government. The first scheme involved the use of unqualified employees for government contracts.  Daigle allegedly mapped employees to labor categories on government contracts for which the employees did not meet minimum qualifications, resulting in the government overpaying for unqualified labor.  To cover this up, Daigle allegedly directed employees to obtain false educational credentials and “fake degrees” from diploma mills on the internet. The second scheme involved alleged false billing, in which the government was charged for work unrelated to a government contract.

The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is the nation’s leading prosecuting authority for complex procurement fraud and corruption cases.           

An indictment is merely an accusation.  The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.           

This investigation is being conducted by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigations Division – Major Procurement Fraud Unit. Trial Attorneys Michael P. McCarthy and Matthew Kahn of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Davis Barlow of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama are prosecuting the case.