NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – United States Attorney Peter G. Strasser and Makan Delrahim, Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, announced that CAJAN WELDING & RENTALS, LTD., a company located in Opelousas, Louisiana, was charged on July 2, 2020 in a one-count bill of information with conspiracy to defraud the United States and to violate the Procurement Integrity Act, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.
According to the bill of information, CAJAN WELDING & RENTALS, LTD. conspired with unnamed co-conspirators to defraud the United States by corrupting and impairing the government procurement process, and by obtaining non-public pricing and cost information in order to obtain subcontract awards and payments from the U.S. Department of Energy in connection with its operation of the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
If convicted, CAJAN WELDING & RENTALS, LTD. faces a maximum fine of $500,000.00, a term of probation of up to five years, and a special assessment of $400.00.
An information is merely an accusation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case is being investigated by the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Louisiana, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal II Section, and the Department of Energy’s Office of the Inspector General.
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| Component | USAO - Louisiana, Eastern; |
| OIG | Department of Energy OIG |