Robert P. Burke/Image Courtesy of The Navy Times
Federal prosecutors have announced the arrest of former Naval Officer Robert P. Burke, 62, on serious bribery charges.
Burke, a retired four-star Navy Admiral, was arrested on Friday. According to the Justice Department, he accepted bribes in exchange for steering government contracts to a company that promised him a lucrative job after his retirement from the Navy.
The indictment reveals that from 2020 to 2022, Burke, who oversaw Naval operations in Europe, Russia, and most of Africa and commanded thousands of civilian and military personnel, conspired with CEOs Yongchul “Charlie” Kim and Meghan Messenger of “Company A”) that provided a workforce training pilot program to a small component of the Navy from August 2018 through July 2019.
The Navy terminated a contract with Company A in late 2019 and directed Company A not to contact Burke.
Despite the Navy’s instructions, Kim and Messenger allegedly still met with Burke in Washington, D.C., in July 2021, in an effort to reestablish Company A’s business relationship with the Navy.
It is alleged that at the July 2021 meeting, the charged defendants agreed that Burke would use his position as a Navy Admiral to steer a sole-source contract to Company A in exchange for future employment at the company.
From the Department of Justice:
They allegedly further agreed that Burke would use his official position to influence other Navy officers to award another contract to Company A to train a large portion of the Navy with a value Kim allegedly estimated to be “triple digit millions.”
In furtherance of the conspiracy, in December 2021, Burke allegedly ordered his staff to award a $355,000 contract to Company A to train personnel under Burke’s command in Italy and Spain. Company A performed the training in January 2022. Thereafter, Burke allegedly promoted Company A in a failed effort to convince a senior Navy Admiral to award another contract to Company A. To conceal the scheme, Burke allegedly made several false and misleading statements to the Navy, including by creating the false appearance that Burke played no role in issuing the contract and falsely implying that Company A’s employment discussions with Burke only began months after the contract was awarded.
In October 2022, Burke began working at Company A at a yearly starting salary of $500,000 and a grant of 100,000 stock options.
US Attorney Matthew Graves said in a statement,
“As alleged in the indictment, Admiral Burke used his public office and his four-star status for his private gain,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves. “The law does not make exceptions for admirals or CEOs. Those who pay and receive bribes must be held accountable. The urgency is at its greatest when, as here, senior government officials and senior executives are allegedly involved in the corruption.”
“Today’s indictment exemplifies our unwavering commitment to eradicating fraud within the DoD,” said Deputy Director, Grant A. Fleming, Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General’s, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS). “Together with our federal partners, DCIS will persist in dismantling attempts to defraud the U.S. Government.”
“NCIS takes every allegation of corruption within the Department of the Navy seriously, regardless of rank or position,” said Special Agent in Charge Greg Gross of the NCIS Economic Crimes Field Office. “NCIS and our partners remain committed to rooting out criminality that degrades public trust in the Department of the Navy.”
“Burke allegedly steered a lucrative contract to Kim and Messenger’s company in exchange for the promise of future employment and then lied to try to conceal the scheme,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott. “As a four-star admiral, Burke not only cheated U.S. taxpayers but also did a disservice to military personnel under his command. As this indictment demonstrates, the FBI and our partners remain committed to investigating and prosecuting corrupt officials regardless of their rank or title.”
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