Former Navy Admiral Arrested in Widespread Corruption Scheme

Lina PortmanJune 1, 2024

0 3 minutes read

A retired four-star Navy admiral who commanded thousands of officers across Europe, Russia and Africa was arrested Friday on corruption charges relating to a government contract.

Robert Burke is accused of awarding a contract to two New York business executives, Yongchul “Charlie” Kim and Meghan Messenger, in exchange for future employment with their companies, the Justice Department said. Kim and Messenger were also arrested Friday for their roles in the alleged scheme.

The Justice Department did not name the company, but Kim and Messenger are listed as co-CEOs on the New York company NextJump's website.

The company offered a pilot workforce training program to a small group of Navy personnel starting in August 2018, according to federal officials. The Navy terminated the contract the following year and ordered the company not to contact Burke.

But in July 2021, he reportedly met with the two co-CEOs in Washington DC and agreed that Burke would use his high-ranking position to “steer a sole-source contract” with the company in exchange for future employment, according to reports. court documents.

Burke, 62, of Coconut Creek, Fla., agreed that he would try to convince other officers to award the company another contract to train a “large portion” of the Navy with a value that Kim would have estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars. dollars, according to the Department of Justice.

The former Navy executive is also accused of covering up the alleged scheme by implying he had no role in awarding the contract and only began discussing job opportunities with the company only a few months after its award. A lawyer for Burke denied the alleged bribery scheme and told USA TODAY he plans to stand trial.

DOJ: Burke was awarded a contract for the company in exchange for future employment

Five months after the meeting in Washington, D.C., Burke allegedly ordered his team to award a $355,000 contract to the company to train officers under his command in Italy and Spain. The company provided the training in January 2022, according to federal officials.

In October 2022, federal officials say Burke began working at the company with a starting salary of $500,000.

Burke, Kim and Messenger are charged with corruption and conspiracy to commit bribery. Burke is also accused of committing acts affecting personal financial interest and concealing material facts from the United States. If convicted, Burke faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, and Kim and Messenger each face up to 20 years.

“No quid pro quo here”

Attorney Timothy Parlatore said Burke denies the accusations and alleged the Justice Department's information was incorrect. Parlatore told USA TODAY that Burke did not deny meeting with company executives in July 2021, but said the nature of the conversation was mischaracterized.

“I think the information they're relying on is inaccurate because there's no quid pro quo here,” he said.

There was no connection between the job offer and the contract awarded on behalf of the Navy, Parlatore said, except that Burke believed in the product they were providing and ultimately accepted an offer with them. And Burke was apparently still updating his resume and speaking with other potential employers after the meeting in Washington, D.C., indicating he had not yet accepted a position in the alleged bribery scheme .

“We look forward to putting this case before a jury and ensuring that Admiral Burke is exonerated of these false claims,” Parlatore said.

NextJump did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's requests for comment Friday.

Corruption charges involving public officials

The charges announced Friday are the latest in a series of alleged corruption crimes involving public officials.

Earlier this month, the Justice Department announced charges against Rep. Henry Cuellar, Democrat of Texas, and his wife for bribery and money laundering. The couple is accused of stealing about $600,000 from an oil and gas company linked to the Azerbaijani government and a bank headquartered in Mexico City. The indictment accuses Cuellar of corruptly attempting to influence U.S. foreign policy in favor of Azerbaijan and using his legislative influence to benefit the bank.

In January, two current and two former Massachusetts state troopers were indicted in connection with an alleged scheme to provide passing scores for commercial driver's licenses in exchange for bribes. Prosecutors accused the troopers of falsifying records and conspiring to give preferential treatment to at least 17 CDL applicants. Police were even able to convince drivers who had failed their skills tests and used the code word “golden” to identify those candidates, according to court records.

Federal prosecutors in Tennessee indicted a U.S. Army soldier from Fort Campbell in March for selling national defense secrets to China. Korbein Schultz allegedly received $42,000 in 14 payments.

Lina Portman

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