PHILADELPHIA—Judy Noll, 52, of Mertztown, PA, was charged today by Information with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Noll, President of Karen Construction Company, Inc. (Karen Construction) engaged in a scheme to defraud the United States Department of Transportation through the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program (DBE) by posing as a DBE, when in fact it was not, in order to secure contracts on federally funded highway projects under the DBE program. From approximately January 2002 through October 2011, Noll, as President of Karen Construction, wrongfully obtained DBE subcontracts totaling an estimated $11.9 million involving approximately 133 federally funded projects.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, two years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000, and a $100 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the United States Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General/Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mary Kay Costello.