Say Anything Blog

RALEIGH, N.C., July 28—Private security contractor Blackwater Worldwide and its affiliates may have misrepresented their size to win more than $100 million in government contracts set aside for small businesses, federal auditors said Monday.

A report by the Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General questioned the agency’s decision to approve Blackwater as a small business even though there were signs that the company could be much larger than executives claimed.

In fiscal 2005 through 2007, Blackwater and affiliates won 32 small-business contracts worth more than $2.1 million even though the work was restricted to companies with revenue of $6.5 million or less, according to the audit. One contract had a revenue ceiling of $750,000. Meanwhile, Blackwater’s airline affiliate Presidential Airways won more than $107 million in contracts set aside for companies with revenue of less than $25.5 million or fewer than 1,500 employees.