DC officials want probe of deal given to firm with no workers

Two D.C. councilmembers have asked government officials to examine a local company that has no employees, and yet was given the largest workload and payout from a $215 million no-bid sports gambling contract.

The Washington Post reports Robert C. White Jr. and Elissa Silverman want an investigation into Veterans Services Corp., which is contracted by Intralot for sports betting and city lottery work.

“This is likely a ‘pass through’ company in which the money would go back to Intralot who’s the main vendor and that is not what the DC law is designed to do. I mean this is basically a way for the main vendor to capture ALL the money and give a little money to a shell company,” Silverman said.

Their votes were crucial in awarding Intralot the sole-source contract, despite concerns about subcontractors, some of whom are connected to local officials.

The newspaper says Veterans Services has no employees and lists executives on its website who don't actually work there.

“The biggest portion of this contract is subcontracted to a company that doesn’t appear to have any employees. In this case, they certainly had access to all of this, now why nobody raised a red flag? Maybe we’ll find that out as other inquires go forward," said Steve Thompson of The Washington Post.

Silverman and White want Attorney General Karl A. Racine and District Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey DeWitt to revisit Intralot's contract and investigate Veterans Services' legal compliance.

A spokesperson for D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine confirms to FOX 5 that the Attorney General has received the Councilmembers request and he is looking into the matter.