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USAID Official and Three Corporate Executives Plead Guilty to Decade-Long Bribery Scheme Involving Over $550 Million in Contracts; Two Companies Admit Criminal Liability for Bribery Scheme and Securities Fraud

'... * Roderick Watson, 57, of Woodstock, Maryland, who worked as a USAID contracting officer, pleaded guilty to bribery of a public official;

* Walter Barnes, 46, of Potomac, Maryland, the owner and president of PM Consulting Group LLC doing business as Vistant (Vistant), a certified small business under the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) contracting program, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official and securities fraud;

* Darryl Britt, 64, of Myakka City, Florida, the owner and president of Apprio, Inc. (Apprio), a certified small business under the SBA 8(a) contracting program, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official; and * Paul Young, 62, of Columbia, Maryland, the president of a subcontractor to Vistant and Apprio, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official. ...

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Reference: oig.usaid.gov
Tags: USAID,Bribery Scheme (USAID), Contract Bribes,

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