Pentagon mum following FBI search of government cyber, IT distributor Carahsoft

WASHINGTON — The Defense Department so far is declining to comment on an FBI search of one of its key IT vendors, Carahsoft Technology Corp., as details have emerged about a reported federal investigation.

Tuesday afternoon the FBI said it conducted a “court-authorized law enforcement activity” on the same street as Carahsoft’s headquarters, but declined to provide further details. The same day Mary Lange, Carahsoft’s vice president of digital media and public relations, told Breaking Defense in an emailed statement that “representatives from the Department of Justice came to the Carahsoft office today as they are conducting an investigation into a company with which Carahsoft has done business in the past.”

At the time she added that the company is “fully cooperating” and is “operating business as usual.” Nextgov first reported the federal action.

When asked today about the development and whether the Pentagon had any concerns, DoD spokesperson Jeff Jurgensen told Breaking Defense the department “has no statement or information to provide regarding this matter.”

It’s currently unclear why the FBI searched the company, beyond the firm’s contention it involved a prior relationship to another firm. Federal News Network and The Register reported the US government and Carahsoft are currently tussling in court in a civil suit over documents the Department of Justice requested as part of a false claims investigation. An attorney for Carahsoft did not immediately respond to Breaking Defense’s request for comment.

Bloomberg reported today that the DOJ is investigating Carahsoft and also German tech giant SAP, for which Carahsoft is a reseller, related to purported price fixing, specifically around products or services sold to the US military. (SAP confirmed it is cooperating with a civil DOJ matter, according to Reuters.)

Carahsoft has won contracts with the Navy, Air Force, Army and the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency over the past few months. It also is a current vendor for GigEagle — a joint initiative between the Air Force Research Lab and Defense Innovation Unit to quickly find talent across the entirety of the DoD for short-term Pentagon projects, Breaking Defense previously reported. 

In court documents, the Department of Justice said Carahsoft “has sold technology solutions that are manufactured or owned by [redacted] and [redacted] affiliates to the federal government, including the DoD” — some $2 billion worth of business overall over the past 10 years.