Man accused of defrauding NASA Plum Brook pleads guilty

SANDUSKY — A Georgia resident reached a deal to plead guilty to two charges relating to him allegedly defrauding NASA Plum Brook.On Oct. 31, Eric Louis Hogan, owner of a company called P&E Construction, pleaded guilty in Cleveland's U.S. District Court to two counts: Conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.Federal authorities earlier this year announced indictments for Hogan and several other men on charges relating to defrauding several government agencies including NASA.NASA awarded a contract initially worth about $4.5 million to P&E Construction, which was registered as a service-disabled veteran-owned small business — a type of business that can be awarded portions of contracts through the Small Business Association.Investigators accused Hogan and his company, P&E Construction, of acting as a "pass-through" another company — K&S Constructors — meaning P&E passed on the benefits of the contract to K&S. Law enforcement said K&S is not a service-disabled veteran-owned small business and thus ineligible to receive the benefits of the contract.The owner of K&S, James Kevin Alford, of Florida, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud as a part of a plea agreement, according to court records.Another man involved in the alleged scheme, James Allen Clark, of Florida — vice president of a company called Enola Contracting Services — recently went on trial in Cleveland's district court. A jury convicted him on charges of major fraud, wire fraud and submitting false and fictitious claims.Clark will be sentenced in February. The other men do not have sentencing hearings listed on their court dockets.Reach reporter Brandon Addeo at brandonaddeo@sanduskyregister.com, follow him on Twitter @BrandonAddeo and follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterThe NASA Plum Brook Station in Erie County.