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A Kansas City-area construction company owner was sentenced to prison Thursday for illegally obtaining about $14 million in government contracts.

  • A federal judge in Kansas City, Missouri, sentenced Jeffrey K. Wilson to one year and six months in prison. Wilson will also forfeit $2.1 million.
  • Wilson, 53, owned the Patriot Company Inc., fraudulently obtained government contracts that were supposed to be set aside for businesses owned and operated by military veterans.
  • Wilson is not a veteran, but he partnered with a man who was a service-disabled veteran who falsely claimed to be involved in the company’s day-to-day operations.
  • As a result, their company was awarded 20 government contracts worth more than $13.7 million that it was not entitled to receive.
  • Legitimate veteran-owned or veteran-run businesses lost out on obtaining those contracts as a result, according to federal prosecutors.
  • Wilson pleaded guilty in January to a charge of government program fraud.
  • His co-defendant, Paul Salavitch, pleaded guilty to a charge of making a false writing and is awaiting sentencing.

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©2018 The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Missouri Business Owner Gets Prison Time For $13.7 Million ‘Rent-A-Vet’ Scheme