Tomah man gets 15 months for impersonating veteran to win federal contracts

La Crosse Tribune (WI)

Nov. 10—A 46-year-old Tomah business owner will spend 15 months in prison after his conviction for impersonating a military veteran to obtain federal contracts.

Jon Walker was sentenced in federal court by U.S. District Court Judge James Peterson after Walker pleaded guilty to wire fraud July 11. Walker was ordered to pay restitution of $72,000 and a fine of $10,000. The prison term will be followed by one year of supervised release.

According to federal prosecutors, Walker fraudulently obtained two Department of Defense contracts at Fort McCoy by falsely claiming his business, Walker Investment Properties, was a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business. Walker's business obtained two contracts worth $1.9 million and was issued payments of $483,000.

Walker was the sole owner of the business and never served in the military. As part of the government contracting system, a contractor is required to sign a report certifying the business is providing truthful information to the General Services Administration and will abide by all federal regulations pertaining to Department of Defense contracting. Prosecutors contend Walker signed eight of those reports from 2015 to 2019.

During sentencing Peterson said a substantial sentence was warranted to deter potential violators. He said the integrity of the set-aside program depends on the honesty of the contractors, and cheaters will be dealt with severely.

Special agent Jeffrey Ryan of the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General said, "The GSA OIG will work with law enforcement partners to aggressively pursue cases involving anyone who falsifies information to fraudulently win government contracts. Legitimate service-disabled veteran businesses deserve a level playing field when competing for contract opportunities."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Graber handled the prosecution.