The Small Business Administration has finally revealed the mystery company that was at the center of a contentious lawsuit over federal small business contracting fraud.

The company, GTSI, a software and technology vendor, reported to stockholders in 1999 that an acquisition would no longer allow it to qualify as a small business under federal contracting guidelines. Yet it continued to solicit and win $1.5 billion in contracts earmarked for small firms.

In June 2005, the SBA Inspector General recommended barring the firm from competing for contracts since it misrepresented its size, but the agency took no further action. The American Small Business League (ASBL) sued after the SBA refused to identify the company.

"For the Inspector General to recommend that GTSI be debarred, the evidence against the company must have been very compelling," said ASBL President Lloyd Chapman. "It's time that the FBI step in and investigate the SBA's handling of these matters."