Enterprise Technology Solutions and two of its principals have agreed to pay $2.25 million to settle federal allegations that the technology contractor improperly obtained work reserved for disadvantaged and women-owned small businesses.
The government alleged that the company misrepresented its eligibility for the Small Business Administration’s HUBZone program. Although it identified a College Park, Maryland, address as its principal office and reported local employees, federal investigators said its main operation and more than 50 workers were in Pakistan.
The settlement also resolves allegations involving the Women-Owned Small Business program. The government said Shamela Sheikh was presented as the company’s leader while Zahid Sheikh exercised strategic and day-to-day control. It further alleged that the contractor sold federal agencies information-technology equipment made outside countries permitted under the Trade Agreements Act.
According to the Justice Department, the representations helped the company secure more than 150 contract awards. A whistleblower who brought the underlying False Claims Act suit will receive $337,500 from the recovery.
The agreement resolves civil claims only. The allegations were not tried, and there has been no determination that the company or either principal is liable. That distinction matters in False Claims Act settlements, where payment can reflect litigation risk as well as the parties’ assessment of the evidence.
The case, filed in federal court in Washington, is U.S. ex rel. Harris v. Enterprise Technology Solutions, Inc., No. 21-3220.
Official settlement announcement
