Carroll Independent Fuel accused of minority subcontractor ‘bait and switch’ on $289M state contract

The Maryland Board of Public Works has ordered an investigation after a minority-owned firm accused Carroll Independent Fuel of a “bait and switch” in which it replaced the firm as a subcontractor on a $289 million state fuel contract. Timothy Maloney, an attorney representing Akata Global, a Columbia-based certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), said the firm shouldn’t have been dropped by Baltimore-based Carroll after winning the contract to manage the supply and distribution of state fuel products in 2021.