Akbar Ghaneh Fard v. United States
1. In competitive government procurement programs, does a government contractor "defraud" the Government by practicing conservatism in the bidding process and reasonably overstating estimates for proposed cost items?
2. Does any alleged misrepresentation in obtaining a government procurement contract through set-aside program transform a contract into a "government benefit" akin to a grant or an entitlement program payment, for the purpose of loss and restitution calculation, as opposed to a classic procurement fraud, which should be treated under the general rule for loss calculation?
Whether a government contractor's conservative bidding and reasonable overstatement of cost estimates in a competitive procurement program constitutes fraud