Hondo is investigating allegations of fraud in a government agency’s procurement process.

The correct answer is D. Bid tailoring occurs when procurement specifications are drafted to favor a particular contractor or to allow an otherwise unsuitable contractor to qualify. The ACFE material identifies overly broad specifications as one form of bid tailoring because they can be designed to include a favored vendor even though the vendor does not meet the organization’s actual operational needs. Bid splitting involves dividing purchases to avoid competitive thresholds. Bid suppression involves preventing or discouraging competitors from submitting bids. Bid manipulation is broader, but the facts specifically focus on drafting specifications in a way that favors the winning contractor. Therefore, bid tailoring is the most precise classification for Hondo’s finding.

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