Small Business Administration Refusing To Release Executives Un-redacted Emails

ASBL Prepares For Legal Battle With SBA Over Press Office Executives Emails

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Mar 19, 2015, 07:09 ET

PETALUMA, Calif., March 19, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Small Business Administration (SBA) is refusing to release electronic un-redacted copies of emails from SBA Press Office executives Terry Sutherland and Fred Baldassaro.

The American Small Business League (ASBL) requested the emails under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) because they believe the emails will show that the SBA Press Office staff has engaged in a systematic campaign to block stories in the media about the rampant fraud and abuse that has been uncovered in SBA managed programs.

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A series of federal investigations and investigative reports in the media have all found billions of dollars in federal small business contracts that have been diverted to Fortune 500 firms and many of the largest corporate giants around the world.

ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Fox News and RTTV have all reported on the SBA's role in the diversion of federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms.

The SBA has reported contracts to firms such as Dell, Verizon, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, Microsoft, Rolls Royce, IBM and British Aerospace Engineering (BAE) as small business contracts.

The House Small Business Committee chastised SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet for including billions of dollars in contracts to Fortune 500 firms in the SBA's 2013 small business contracting data.

In 2009 the Office of Government Accountability essentially accused the SBA of encouraging fraud in Report 10-108 that stated, "By failing to hold firms accountable, SBA and contracting agencies have sent a message to the contracting community that there is no penalty or consequences for committing fraud…"

The SBA has now adopted the final rule on their "safe harbor from fraud penalties policy" that will allow fraudulent small business firms to avoid all penalties and prosecution by simply claiming they "acted in good faith."

The ASBL believes the emails will also prove SBA Press Office director Terry Sutherland and Fred Baldassaro have launched a campaign to interfere with the ASBL's efforts to publicize President Obama's announcement that he intends to resurrect Ronald Reagan's plan to permanently close the SBA by combining it with the Department of Commerce.

The ASBL plans to file an appeal of their request and then file suit against the SBA in Federal District Court in San Francisco if their appeal is denied.

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Contact: Steve Godfrey
[email protected]
707-789-9575
www.asbl.com

SOURCE American Small Business League