AJustCause

Is Big Blue Too Big To Fail?

Did IBM Run IRP Solutions Corporation Out of Business?

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This story goes hand-in-hand with the story of how the executives of IRP Solutions Corporation had a dream, but as they went after new business, IBM undermined their efforts in Philadelphia.  Did this multi-billion dollar corporation feel threatened by a small start up? Is IBM too big to fail, and IRP too small to succeed?  

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Did this major government vendor/contractor play a role in undermining the executives of IRP and help facilitate the investigation and subsequent indictment/trial/conviction?
 

How can this be substantiated?  The trail leads back to 2009 when IRP attempted to do business in Philadelphia with the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). IBM had a contract to build an electronic search warrant capability but was failing at delivering on the contract.  After IRP Solutions conducted a demo of IRP's capabilities, Philadelphia was ready to do business with IRP Solutions.  IBM's project managers realized that they might be out and IRP in, so they went to the managers within the OIG and presented a newspaper article showing that IRP was under investigation (NOTE: The article was supposed to have been under seal but, somehow, it was leaked).  This prompted the Philadelphia IG to inquire about the investigation. The U.S. Attorney's office in Denver communicated to the Philadelphia OIG that "...an indictment was coming..." against executives of IRP Solutions.  At this point the OIG communicated to David Banks (IRP) that Philadelphia "...had to regretfully pull the project from IRP..." because of the pending indictment.  NOTE:  Obviously an indictment came but it was 6 months later.  IBM and The U.S. Attorney's office interfered with IRP's ability to do business. The Philadelphia business would have put IRP in a position to address its debts, and there would have been no basis for an indictment/trial, etc. 

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There is plenty of email correspondence between IRP and the City of Philadelphia to substantiate that this was not a pipe dream but a very real business transaction in the making.  Why would IBM go to these lengths to stop IRP from doing business with Philadelphia?  The bottom line is IBM had plenty to lose.  Not only would they have lost a significant contract with the City of Philadelphia, but it would have also placed IRP in a position to gain business that was being sought at the federal level.

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As for other IBM connections, IBM uses the services of the same Denver law firm that sent a letter to the U.S. Attorney's office "instructing" the U.S. Attorney to prosecute the executives of IRP.  Additionally, the attorney who sent the letter to the U.S. Attorney was a former Assistant US Attorney.  This, along with other information that has been uncovered, points to a scenario that the IRP Solutions case is about something far more than the "alleged scam" that the federal government wanted everyone to believe. 

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IRP would have easily been able to take care of its debt, but there were deliberate attempts to prevent that.  Consequently, IRP was literally run out of business, and removed from the equation (via incarceration).  Is all of this speculation?  We think not.  Federal contractor watchdog organizations have previously documented misconduct on the part of IBM, so this wouldn't be the first time. 

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This type of behavior on the part of a major contractor begs for an investigation.  Not to mention the appearance of how IBM is connected to a Denver law firm that has close connections to the U.S. Attorney's office as well as the judge presiding over the case.