On February 25, 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois announced a settlement to resolve allegations that a contractor that was not an eligible participant in the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development Program violated the False Claims Act by controlling a joint venture that claimed 8(a) status and won an 8(a) set-aside award. Click here to read the government’s allegations of how the joint venture failed to comply with the SBA’s joint venture requirements and what contractors currently engaged in joint venturing under the SBA’s Mentor-Protégé Program should take away from this settlement.