Panel says company misled Puerto Rico on $133M rebuilding contract

An independent review panel ruled Tuesday that a $133 million home rebuilding contract in Puerto Rico should be canceled after the company misled officials in an effort to secure the deal, Bloomberg reported.

The panel, which oversees Housing Department contracts, found that Adjusters International Inc. failed to meet several requirements in its bid to handle 75,000 potential home rehabilitations on the hurricane-ravaged island, including having proper certification, according to the news outlet.

The New York-based company could still appeal the decision, Bloomberg reported.

{mosads}The executive vice president for Aecom, a competing bidder for the project, told Bloomberg that the panel’s decision “will lead to a qualified team working on the country’s recovery efforts.” 

The home rebuilding deal is the latest controversy surrounding the government of Puerto Rico following the devastation from Hurricane Maria, which hit the island in late September.

The island initially awarded a $300 million contract to restore the island’s electrical grid to Montana-based Whitefish Energy, which had only two full-time employees when the storm hit the island.

The Puerto Rican government later canceled the deal following public outcry.

The island’s power authority reported Sunday that roughly 75 percent of customers have had electricity restored since the storm, according to ABC News.