Julius Smith is a purchasing agent for a Louisiana state agency. He has a project budgeted for $24,000 that he would like to hire RGS Consultants to handle. Unfortunately for Julius and RGS Consultants, the state has a requirement that all projects over $10,000 must be sent out for competitive bids. In order to avoid the bidding process, Julius breaks the project into three component projects worth $8,000 each. RGS Consultants is subsequently awarded the contracts for all three projects. What type of bid-rigging scheme is this?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Bid splitting is a scheme in which a project is broken down into smaller parts in order to avoid the competitive bidding process. This allows a specific vendor or contractor to win all the smaller projects without facing competition from other bidders. In this case, Julius Smith split the $24,000 project into three $8,000 projects to avoid the state's requirement for competitive bids.

Julius Smith Is a Purchasing Agent for a Louisiana State