Companies on the cusp of outgrowing their small business status sometimes look at their growth as if they are staring into the abyss.  Doing business on small business set-asides can, indeed, be good business.  It is certainly tempting for a company to continue calling itself “small” even if it no longer is.  What’s the problem with that?  A look at the “hot off the presses” GSA IG’s Semi-Annual Report to Congress released late last week provides some clear answers. First up is Jonthan Walker, who not only had to pay fines and restitution of over $90,000 but was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for falsely stating that his company was a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business.  Walker will also likely be suspended or debarred.  Next is QuarterLine Consulting Services, LLC.  QuarterLine paid $3.9 million to resolve allegations that it misrepresented its women-owned small business (WOSB) status to obtain a task order it was ineligible to receive as it had been purchased by another company.  Third is Pro-Mark.  The employees of this company were left holding the bag when its previous owners were found to have misrepresented the firm’s small business status and were subsequently awarded over $70 million in set-aside contracts.  Pro-Mark had to pay a $949,000 fine and only escaped further problems by convincing the Department of Justice that the new-owner employees were not part of the scheme.  This required the negotiation of a Non-Prosecution Agreement, something that, in and of itself, did not come about without a cost.  The GSA IG’s focus in this area makes it clear that misstating a company’s business size can have serious professional, and often personal, consequences.  It is simply not worth maintaining that your company is small if it is, in fact, not.  More than the next job is on the line unless that job is making prison furniture.