Former Nova Datacom Exec Pleads Guilty To Wire Fraud

Theodoros Hallas, the former executive at the VAR500 IT solution provider Nova Datacom, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, according to a statement by the U.S. Department of Justice. Hallas is also involved in the indictment of another IT solution provider, MEDTrends, the DOJ said.

Nova Datacom did not respond to requests for comment.

In his guilty plea, Hallas acknowledged that he agreed to let former colleague, Roger Malik, the former executive vice president of MED Trends, a health-care IT solution provider, use false past performance references and evaluations to bolster the qualifications of MED Trends, the DOJ said. Malik was named in an indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court Friday, charging him with conspiracy, wire fraud and making false statements to win a federal government contract, the DOJ said.

Malik was able to represent falsely to federal agencies that Hallas’s employers -- including Nova Datacom -- had contractual relationships with MED Trends. Those false recommendations were used to grow the federal contracting business for MED Trends, the DOJ said.

In one case, outlined by the DOJ, Hallas provided a false reference to MED Trends to help the solution provider win a contract with the U.S. Department of Labor. According to the charges, that led to MED Trends winning the $20 million contract.

The indictment additionally alleged that Malik caused MED Trends to submit false information to the Small Business Administration, because it wished to obtain and retain status as a HUBZone Small Business Concern.

The SBA's HUBZone Program was established to assist small businesses in urban and rural communities get preferential access to federal procurement opportunities. The DOJ charged that the federal contracts were worth more than $17 million in income for MED Trends.

That money, according to the indictment was earned under false pretenses, since the solution provider had received certification as a HUBZone Small Business Concern and its self-certification as a SDVO Small Business Concern based on Malik's misinformation.