Houston mayoral candidate and attorney Tony Buzbee has filed a lawsuit on behalf of two companies that allege they were fraudulently listed as subcontractors by two companies that later secured millions of dollars for Hurricane Harvey relief work from the city of Houston.
Filed Tuesday in Harris County, the action alleges that Blessed Enterprises and A-Status Construction were unaware that they were listed as minority-owned subcontractors by Burghli Investments and Tegrity Houston, which each received $66 million from the city to help rebuild or rehabilitate homes affected by the storm.
They allege that the companies committed “fraud, misappropriation and implied breach of contract” in order to meet diversity goals and obtain contracts that were approved by City Council. The owners of the companies represented by Buzbee said they learned they were listed on the bids through a website run by the Office of Business of Opportunity, which monitors the program.
Requests for comment from the companies listed as defendants in the suit were not returned late Tuesday afternoon. The city’s Office of Business Opportunity did not return requests for comment or for copies of the companies’ bids.
Buzbee and mayoral candidate Bill King have both made so-called “pay-to-play” issues focal points of their challenges to Mayor Sylvester Turner, who they allege has given city contracts to companies that also donate to his campaign.
King last week criticized Turner for accepting campaign cash from a strip club owner, and Buzbee has accused the mayor of using billboards for the AlertHouston! campaign to help his election chances.
At a Tuesday press conference, Buzbee said he filed the lawsuit out of concern for minority-owned businesses that “routinely are shut out” of the bid process and “never get a piece of the pie.”
The companies he represents are both certified for business with the city, but say they have never received a contract. They say the city’s bid process is unfair, and that the allegedly fraudulent use of their names could damage their reputations and, thus, their ability to get future contracts.
“I worked hard to get where I am,” A-Status Construction owner Raquel Boujourne said “I find it extremely unfair to see these same companies be awarded contract after contract while I am over here working my butt off… Businesses like ours, the little guys, are taken advantage of and the city does not lift a finger to do anything about it. It is a huge problem.”
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