The Small Bus. Admin.'s (SBA) Historically Underutilized Bus. Zone (HUBZone) program provides fed. contracting assistance to small firms located in economically distressed areas, in order to stimulate economic dev¿t. In July 2008, substantial vulnerabilities were identified in SBA's application and monitoring process that demonstrated the HUBZone program is vulnerable to fraud and abuse. Also, 10 HUBZone firms in the Wash., D.C., area misrepresented their eligibility. This report determines: (1) whether additional cases of fraud and abuse exist outside of the Wash., D.C., area; (2) what actions, if any, SBA has taken to establish an effective fraud prevention program for the HUBZone program; and (3) what actions, if any, SBA took against the 10 firms. Illus.

The SBA¿s Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) program provides federal contracting assistance to small firms located in economically distressed areas, with the intent of stimulating economic development. In 2008 and 2009, there were reports on substantial vulnerabilities to fraud and abuse in the HUBZone application and monitoring process. Ten HUBZone firms in the Wash., D.C., area and 19 firms in 4 other metro areas in Alabama, California, and Texas made fraudulent or inaccurate representations to get into or remain in the HUBZone program. This report: (1) performed additional testing of SBA's HUBZone certification process; and (2) determined whether SBA has taken any actions against the 29 firms identified in a previous report.

2011 Updated Reprint. Updated Annually. Alabama Small Business Assistance and Programs Handbook