Texas Contractor Convicted in $240M Federal DBE Fraud Scheme

Abstract

On June 29, a federal district court jury in San Antonio, Texas, found Michael Angelo Padron guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government, and six counts of wire fraud. Padron, along with his co-defendant and business partner Michael Wibracht, were accused of misrepresenting four general construction companies between 1998 and 2018 to give them the appearance of being Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses, thereby eligible to be considered for contracts under the Small Business Administration's 8(a) Business Development Program. Although a third co-defendant, Ruben Villarreal, an actual service-disabled veteran was listed at various times as the companies' majority or sole owner, Padron and Wibracht allegedly retained disqualifying financial and operational control over the companies. The March 17, 2021, federal grand jury indictment detailing charges against Padron identified the companies only by their initials. An August 2021 report of Padron being refused access to Lackland Air Force Base because of the charges identified him as president of San Antonio general construction contractor Mapco, Inc. Padron is scheduled to be sentenced on October 19. Padron's attorneys told ENR they plan to appeal the verdict. Wibracht entered a plea agreement with the government for one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and defraud the U.S, in February 2021, and waived indictment, according to court records.