Find Corporate Waste

Tag: Maryland

  • Census Bureau Manager Took $790K in Contract Kickbacks

    Census Bureau Manager Took $790K in Contract Kickbacks

    A former U.S. Census Bureau program manager was sentenced to two years in prison for steering a multimillion-dollar federal contract to a relative’s company in exchange for $790,000 in kickbacks.

    Yolanda Jones of Maryland has agreed to settle allegations she misappropriated federal funds.

    According to the Justice Department⁠, Camille T. Jones, 47, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, directed an employee-assistance program contract and later modifications toward a prime contractor and YMJ Consulting, a subcontractor owned by her relative, Yolanda M. Jones.

    Prosecutors said Camille Jones tried to disguise the kickbacks through a fabricated service agreement between YMJ Consulting and her mental-health company. The agreement was signed in 2024 but backdated to 2020 before being provided to investigators.

    Jones also admitted sharing confidential Census Bureau procurement information with another government contractor. That contractor hired another relative for a minimal-work position paying $83,000, although Jones allegedly performed most of the work.

    Jones pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and honest-services fraud. She must also forfeit the scheme’s proceeds and serve one year of supervised release.

  • Former Intelligence Contractor Pleads Guilty in Kickback Scheme

    Former Intelligence Contractor Pleads Guilty in Kickback Scheme

    A former Intelligence Community contractor pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit offenses against the United States after admitting that he solicited and accepted illegal kickbacks tied to government procurement.

    According to the DOJ⁠, David Duggin, 55, of Orrtanna, Pennsylvania, was a former senior systems engineer and on-site contractor at a U.S. government Intelligence Community agency. Prosecutors said Duggin and co-conspirators used his on-site access to sensitive information to help obtain government contracts for millions of dollars of hardware and software purchased by U.S. government customers.  

    The DOJ said Duggin received at least $510,000 in illegal kickbacks in exchange for influencing the procurement process to favor his co-conspirators. The alleged conspiracy began at least as early as June 2018 and continued through at least April 2024.  

    The case is being investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the FBI Baltimore Field Office, with prosecutors from the Antitrust Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland. The DOJ also highlighted the Procurement Collusion Strike Force⁠, which targets bid rigging, price fixing, market allocation, and related fraud affecting government spending.

    For Find Corporate Waste⁠, the case is another reminder that taxpayer-funded procurement fraud often depends on insiders, access, and certification-driven trust. 

  • Maryland Man Gets 9 Years for EIDL Money Laundering Scheme

    Maryland Man Gets 9 Years for EIDL Money Laundering Scheme

    A Maryland man was sentenced to nine years in federal prison for helping launder fraud proceeds tied to Economic Injury Disaster Loans and other schemes, according to the DOJ.

    Bright Boateng, 45, of Bladensburg, was also ordered to pay $1,247,950 in restitution and forfeit $431,750. Prosecutors said Boateng admitted that nearly $1.5 million in laundering occurred through his direct role in the conspiracy.

    The DOJ said the scheme ran from 2020 through November 2023 and involved shell companies, bank accounts opened in those entities’ names, stolen identity information, and transactions designed to conceal fraud proceeds. Boateng allegedly received money from at least seven EIDL loans and used a fake Maryland driver’s license bearing his photo with another person’s information.

    The broader case charged 14 defendants, 13 of whom have pleaded guilty. The prosecution involved HSI, IRS-CI, EPA-OIG, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.

    For Find Corporate Waste, the case shows how pandemic-relief fraud often continued after funds were approved, with shell entities and false identity documents used to move and hide taxpayer money.

    Anyone with inside knowledge of EIDL fraud, shell-company laundering, stolen-identity bank accounts, or pandemic-relief funds routed through false entities may have information relevant to public-fraud enforcement.