Alvin “Mick” McDonald Ruis Jr., a San Diego businessman once known for training a Kentucky Derby contender, has been indicted on federal charges accusing him of scheming to defraud the U.S. Navy out of scaffolding contracts worth millions of dollars.
Federal prosecutors in San Diego indicted Ruis on federal charges tied to alleged efforts to defraud the U.S. Navy in connection with construction-related contracts, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Navy Contract Allegations
The case centers on alleged efforts involving Navy scaffolding contracts, according to the newspaper’s reporting.
The first alleged scheme targeted NAVSEA’s Southwest Regional Maintenance Center in San Diego and involved a contract with a ceiling of $17.6 million, the article notes. Prosecutors allege the scheme involved intermingling two company names — Vertical Horizon Scaffold and Vertical Horizon Marine — to confuse contracting personnel. Vertical Horizon Scaffold is described as a small business based in Santee owned by Huang, while Vertical Horizon Marine is allegedly majority-owned by Ruis. Government personnel awarded the contract to Vertical Horizon Marine in 2021, but that company was allegedly ineligible as a small business for the contract, the report states…