obstruction | The Contracting Education Academy

November 30, 2020 By cs

Contractor admits to giving gifts to USDA officials to influence contract awards and obstructing federal grand jury investigation

The former vice president and CEO of Communications Resource, Inc. (CRI), has pled guilty in federal court in the District of Columbia to one count of conspiracy to violate the Procurement Integrity Act and one count of obstruction of justice.

According to court papers, Eric Schneider of Virginia admitted to giving gifts to multiple officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to influence the award of contracts worth over $19.2 million to CRI and another company he controlled.

Schneider admitted to giving USDA officials Corvette wheels, concert tickets, PGA tour tickets, meals, alcohol, strip clubs, parking, concierge medical services, prescription drugs, and other cash tips.
Schneider further admitted that, as part of the conspiracy, he drafted or instructed employees to draft procurement documents in such a way as to favor the award of a multi-million dollar contract to CRI.
Schneider then provided the documents to a USDA official to whom he provided gifts, for use in the procurement process as if they had been prepared by the USDA.
Schneider also admitted to directing two of his company’s employees to destroy documents responsive to a federal grand jury subpoena.

Schneider pled guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. A sentencing date has not yet been set. The maximum penalty for conspiracy is five years in prison and a fine of not more than $250,000 or twice the pecuniary gain or loss of the offense. The maximum penalty for obstruction of justice is ten years of imprisonment.

The Washington Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Beltsville Field Office of the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of the Inspector General (OIG) investigated the case, along with assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services OIG, the Department of State OIG, and the Small Business Administration OIG.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/usda-contractor-admits-giving-gifts-usda-officials-influence-award-contracts-and

January 5, 2016 By AMK

State Department employee indicted in $2 million contract conspiracy

Kenneth Apple, 65, of Beaverton, Oregon, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to his role in awarding $2 million in micro-dairy contracts from the U.S. government for use in Iraq.

According to the indictment, Apple, a former employee with the U.S. Department of State, helped to steer the sole-sourcing of $2 million in micro-dairy contracts to a company in which his son, Jonathan Apple, owned a 50 percent interest. However, Jonathan Apple and his partner had no technical experience in the industry. Kenneth Apple conspired to use his official position to pass on non-public information to his son in order to fraudulently award and administer government contracts. The conspirators further provided false information to, and concealed material details from the U.S. government.

According to the indictment, Kenneth Apple provided templates and technical specifications used in the proposal submitted by Jonathan Apple and his partner to the U.S. government. In addition, Kenneth Apple caused false and misleading statements to be made to the U.S. government regarding his experience, ownership interest, and the status of the projects. For example, Kenneth Apple directed a conspirator to keep Jonathan Apple’s name off the company’s website and any ownership documents. When federal law enforcement agents confronted Kenneth Apple about the scheme, he made false statements, including that he could not recall the owner of the company that won the micro-dairy contracts and that he did not receive any money from the contracts.

Kenneth Apple faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted of wire fraud or obstruction of an official proceeding, and five years in prison if convicted of conspiracy or false statements. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

A copy of the press release regarding this indictment may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:15-cr-363.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

September 17, 2013 By AMK

Man who trained Feds on how to beat polygraph tests heads to prison

An Indiana man who charged federal employees and job applicants for training on how to beat lie detector tests was sentenced to eight months in prison on Friday.

Chad Dixon, 34, of Marion, Ind., charged customers up to $2,000 plus travel expenses to teach them how to subvert polygraph examinations used by government agencies in federal security background checks. Two federal contractors with Top Secret security clearances who worked for an intelligence agency and a law enforcement agency were among his customers.

“Dixon customized his trainings by asking each customer the purpose of their polygraph examination and the information they wanted to conceal from the government,” according to a press release from Neil MacBride, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/oversight/2013/09/man-who-trained-feds-how-beat-polygraph-tests-heads-prison/70122/?oref=govexec_today_nl

The former vice president and CEO of Communications Resource, Inc. (CRI), has pled guilty in federal court in the District of Columbia to one count of conspiracy to violate the Procurement Integrity Act and one count of obstruction of justice.

Kenneth Apple, 65, of Beaverton, Oregon, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to his role in awarding $2 million in micro-dairy contracts from the U.S. government for use in Iraq.

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