A former deputy chief of naval operations for the U.S. Navy was arrested Friday on charges that he accepted bribes to steer government contracts to a company in exchange for future employment while still on duty, Department of Defense officials announced. Justice (DOJ) in a statement. declaration.
Retired Navy Admiral Robert Burke, 62, of Coconut Creek, Florida, and two executives, Yongchul “Charlie” Kim and Meghan Messenger, both of New York, were charged with bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery, according to theunsealed indictment.
Additionally, Burke is accused of “performing acts that affect personal financial interests and concealing material facts from the United States,” the DOJ statement notes.
If convicted, Burke will face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, while Kim and Messenger will each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Burke, who served aboard attack submarines and ballistic missiles, rose through the ranks to become the 40th vice chief of naval operations in June 2019, before taking command of U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa and U.S. Naval Forces Command. Allied Joint Forces in June 2020.
Meanwhile, Kim and Messenger were co-CEOs of a company, referred to by the Department of Justice as “Company A,” that provided a pilot workforce training program for a small component of the Navy from August 2018 to July 2019. .A website for company servicesNextSkiplists Charlie Kim and Meghan Messenger as co-CEOs.
The Navy terminated the contract with Company A at the end of 2019 and directed it not to contact Burke.
In July 2021, however, while Burke was overseeing thousands of Navy civilians and personnel in Europe and Africa, Kim and Messenger reportedly met with him in Washington, D.C., in an effort to reestablish Company A’s business relationship with the Navy. , according to the statement.
“At the meeting, the accused defendants allegedly agreed that Burke would use his position as a Navy admiral to conduct a sole-source contract for Company A in exchange for future employment with the company,” the Justice Department said. that Burke would use his official position to influence other Navy officials to award another contract to Company A to train a large portion of the Navy at a value that Kim allegedly estimated in the “triple-digit millions.”
Several months later, in December 2021, Burke allegedly ordered his Navy personnel to award a $355,000 contract to the company to train personnel under Burke’s command in Italy and Spain, according to the statement.
Company A then held training in January 2022 and soon afterward Burke allegedly promoted the company in a failed effort to convince a senior Navy admiral to award another contract to the business.
“To conceal the scheme, Burke allegedly made several false and misleading statements to the Navy, including 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 has been signed. awarded,” the statement said.
After retiring in the summer of 2022, Burke began working at Company A in October of that year, starting with a salary of $500,000 and a grant of 100,000 stock options.
Navy spokesman Rear Adm. Ryan Perry said the service has fully cooperated with the investigation since its inception.
“We take this matter very seriously and will continue to cooperate with the Department of Justice. As this is an ongoing legal case, we would refer you to the DOJ for any additional information on this matter,” Perry said in a statement to The Hill.
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