PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The owner of Alhambra Building Company, in Warwick, pleaded guilty Wednesday to filing false claims and documents to collect more than $500,000 in federal stimulus funds, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The company, led by Donald F. Ihlefeld, 71, of Cranston, was working on a renovation project to turn a former West Warwick textile mill into a walk-in health center when Ihlefeld falsely represented he paid employees local prevailing wages for their work, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The Cotton Shed Project, as it was known, was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 through grants provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration.