Sylacauga Businessman to be Arraigned in Federal Court

Sylacauga businessman Frank Lewis Conn is scheduled to be arraigned next week in U.S. District Court in Birmingham on five counts of wire fraud, concerning billing for clearing power lines for the Tennessee Valley Authority.  Conn was indicted earlier this month by a federal grand jury of padding invoices to the tune of $152,712 over the course of his company’s contract with TVA.  According to the indictment, Conn was owner and administrative manager of Conn Equipment Rental Company Inc. doing business as Vegetation Management Services LLC when the company contracted with TVA to remove vegetation from power lines and other TVA property. The original contract, entered into on March 5, 2008, called for Conn to be paid on a per-acre basis. On Jan. 19, 2009, the contract was amended to allow Conn to bill TVA an hourly rate.

The indictment alleges Conn submitted false invoices by inflating the hours that equipment was actually being used. During that period, Conn was paid via wire transfers totaling $284,084.56, and prosecutors allege $34,446 of that was fraudulent due to inflated billing.

Prosecutors seek forfeiture of $284,084.56.