SIR allegedly under investigation by SBA

According to an Oct. 20 post on X attributed to Kelly Loeffler, the administrator of the U.S. small Business Administration, the SBA is investigating the Susanville Indian Rancheria.

According to an Oct. 22 post attributed to Loeffler, “As of today, the SBA has officially suspended ATI Government Solutions, which is majority-owned by Susanville Indian Rancheria, as well as three of its executives, from conducting any new business with the federal government.”

LassenNews’ attempts to contact the both the SBA and the SIR for comment proved unsuccessful.

According to the Oct. 20 post on X attributed to Kelly Loeffler, “SBA has launched an investigation into ATI Government Solutions and Susanville Indian Rancheria. This is why we have been conducting a full review of the 8(a) Program, ostensibly designed to help ‘socially and economically disadvantaged’ small businesses compete in the federal marketplace. Yet, what we’ve discovered so far has been institutionalized abuse, which potentially amounts to billions of dollars in federal contracts that are run through shell companies, fraudulent pass-throughs, and other schemes. That’s why in February, the SBA took immediate action to slash 8(a) contracting goals across the federal government. In June, we launched an audit of the program to review every 8(a) contract for the last 15 years. And in July, we rescinded the contracting authority of USAID, which was involved in a massive bribery scandal.”

Sierra Daily News posted this response from the SIR.