WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on Dec. 1 against a Florida construction company for allegedly falsely using a Small Business Administration certification to obtain millions of dollars in government contracts.

Air Ideal, Inc. and its owner, Kim Amkraut, allegedly made false statements to obtain certification as a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) company. Companies can use this certification when bidding on government contracts and, in some cases, agencies limit the bidding process to only HUBZone-certified companies.