Juneau, Alaska-based Goldbelt Raven is the current holder of a $93 million research and development support services contract with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.

On Aug. 8, the Small Business Administration's Inspector General's office issued a report recommending that Goldbelt Raven be removed from its 8(a) program for small disadvantaged businesses.

The Inspector General found that the company had failed to disclose agreements under which it paid more than $16.1 million to Cambridge, a company owned by its then-president Suresh Doki, between fiscal years 2004 and 2006. That's nearly a quarter of Goldbelt Raven's revenue from 8(a) contracts in that time. In at least one instance, Cambridge performed nearly all of the work the government had contracted to Goldbelt Raven.

Because the agreements weren't disclosed, the SBA couldn't determine whether Goldbelt Raven met company size requirements and performed enough work in-house on nearly $450 million in 8(a) contracts the government awarded it between fiscal years 2003 and 2006.

Doki is no longer with the company, though he is still a stockholder, said Tony Lieto, a retired U.S. Army colonel who was named the new president of the company Monday.

Goldbelt Raven used administrative staff members from Cambridge as hourly employees because it needed the assistance when it was starting up, Lieto said.

"You have to understand that Goldbelt Raven was a small company, strapped for cash," he said. "What they tried to do was cut corners ... they did that to survive."

Based on the report, the SBA suspended Goldbelt Raven's participation in the 8(a) program, and is seeking to remove the company from the program entirely.

Companies that have been suspended from the 8(a) program can continue on their existing and approved contracts, but cannot be awarded any new ones, Tiffani Clements, a SBA spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail.

Goldbelt Raven bid on the successor to its current research and development support contract with USAMRIID, but the Army hasn't announced the contract winner. That contract was set aside for 8(a) firms.

Goldbelt Raven is trying to get the SBA to reverse its suspension decision, according to a statement from the company.

The company still could get the contract if the Army decides that it is in the government's best interest, Lieto said.

He said he believes that is likely, given the company's good reputation, the fact that it holds the current contract and its price advantages.

Regardless, Lieto said he intends to focus on moving the company forward, while executives at Goldbelt LLC, Goldbelt Raven's parent company, deal with the SBA.

"Goldbelt ... will overcome this," he said. "They're just being made to jump through the hoops."

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