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The Department of Justice has announced that a former USAID contracting officer and three business executives have pleaded guilty to orchestrating a decade-long bribery and fraud scheme that exceeded $500 million in federal contracts.
Getting into it: According to the DOJ, Roderick Watson, a former contracting officer at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), pleaded guilty to accepting over $1 million in bribes in exchange for steering federal contracts worth more than $543 million to two companies: Apprio Inc. and Vistant. Watson admitted to manipulating the federal procurement process over nearly a decade, beginning in 2013, to award 14 prime contracts to these firms, bypassing fair competition. The contracts ranged in value from a few million dollars to as high as $95 million and covered services from “technical support” to “professional management,” cybersecurity, and even international advisory roles.
The bribes Watson received were both lavish and extensive. According to court documents, he was given not only large sums of cash, but also luxury items and personal favors, including laptops, cell phones, thousands of dollars in NBA suite tickets, down payments on two residential mortgages, and a fully funded country club wedding. The scheme even extended to securing jobs for Watson’s relatives.
Also pleading guilty were Darryl Britt, founder of Apprio Inc., Walter Barnes III, owner of Vistant, and Paul Young, president of a subcontractor used by both firms. Britt and Barnes each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official, while Barnes also admitted to securities fraud. Young served as a key intermediary in the scheme, helping to obscure the flow of bribes to Watson. The businessmen funneled payments through shell companies, fraudulent invoices, and false payroll documents. At one point, Watson was even placed on a company’s payroll despite performing no work, and electronic transfers falsely identified him as an employee.
The value of the contracts involved in the scheme totaled approximately $544 million awarded between 2013 and 2022, with an additional $287 million in potential contracts discussed but not finalized. Initially, the scheme centered around Apprio, which qualified for sole-source contracts under the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) program for disadvantaged businesses. When Apprio “graduated” from the 8(a) program and became ineligible for further sole-source awards, Watson shifted the scheme to favor Vistant, which continued receiving USAID contracts under the same program. In turn, Vistant subcontracted work back to Apprio, keeping both firms involved in the loop.
US officials react: In a statement, Acting Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Sean Bottary said, “Corruption in government programs will not be tolerated. Watson abused his position of trust for personal gain while federal contractors engaged in a pay-to-play scheme. USAID-OIG is firmly committed to rooting out fraud and corruption within U.S. foreign assistance programs. Today’s announcement underscores our unwavering focus on exposing criminal activity, including bribery schemes by those entrusted to faithfully award government contracts. We appreciate our longstanding partnership with the Department of Justice in holding accountable those who defraud American taxpayers.”
