The US Department of Justice has done that shared details of two separate cases of fraud against the government relating to the overpriced sale of IT services and contracts as part of the ongoing investigation into IT manufacturers, distributors and resellers.
A federal grand jury in Baltimore returned indictments against two of the six defendants and indicted the other four.
The fraudsters were accused of targeting key government agencies, including the Department of Defense (DoD) and the intelligence community.
Six people charged with defrauding the US government
The first of the two, Victor M Marquez, was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and major fraud. The owner of the Maryland-based IT company and two of its employees are said to have made “determined, non-competitive and non-independent” bids to ensure that Marquez’s unnamed company could win.
Marquez was charged by the federal grand jury with wire fraud conspiracy (up to 20 years in prison), wire fraud (with an additional 20 years), and major fraud (carrying up to 10 years in prison).
In a separate incident, Breal L. Madison Jr. charged with conspiracy, bribery of a government official, mail fraud, and money laundering, defrauding his employer and the U.S. government, along with two of his associates, of more than $7 million.
Madison hid much of his money behind two shell companies; the DoJ added that he also used the money to finance a luxury yacht, a Lamborghini and several other vehicles.
Madison faces up to five years in prison for each count of conspiracy, 15 years for each count of bribery, 20 years for each count of mail fraud and 10 years for each count of money laundering.
The DoJ has not shared specific details about the nature of the fraud, including contract details and parties involved.