VIRGINIA
A judge sentenced a Virginia businessman to seven years and four months in federal prison after he plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, money laundering and to defraud the government and one count of bribery.
Young N. Cho, aka Alex Cho, 43, of Great Falls, Virginia, paid millions of dollars in bribes to corrupt public officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in return for lucrative government contracts, officials saidl
In addition to Cho, 19 other individuals and one corporation, Nova Datacom LLC, have pleaded guilty to federal charges.
The investigation uncovered the largest domestic bribery and bid-rigging scheme in the history of federal contracting cases, according to authorities.
Cho plead guilty in September 2011 in federal court. He was sentenced Thursday.
Federal judge Emmet G. Sullivan also ordered Cho to pay $7.6 million restitution to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and pay a forfeiture money judgment of $6.8 million, officials said.
The defendants stole over $30 million in government money through fictitious invoices and conspired to steer a nearly $1 billion government contract to a favored government contractor, according to officials.
To date, through forfeiture, restitution, and civil settlements, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has been able to recover over $30 million of the stolen money, according to officials.
“Alex Cho was at the center of a cash-for-contracts scheme that robbed the American taxpayer of $30 million,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent Cohen. “Cho is just one of 20 crooked contractors, government officials and other middlemen who have pled guilty as part of this investigation. His prison sentence is proof that the temptation to cheat the system by paying off corrupt government employees is not worth it.”
“More than six years after initiating one of the largest procurement fraud cases in history, this sentence demonstrates that the FBI and our law enforcement partners have a long memory when it comes to holding accountable those who engage in bribes and kickbacks,” said Assistant FBI Director in Charge Paul Abbate. “The FBI will continue to diligently work to protect the integrity of our government by pursuing those who seek to violate the system through corruption.”
Officials said Cho was the chief technology officer for Nova Datacom.
Among others, he conspired with three defendants who worked closely with Nova Datacom throughout the course of the scheme: Kerry F. Khan and Michael A. Alexander, former program managers for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Harold F. Babb, the former director of contracts at Eyak Technology LLC (EyakTek), an Alaska Native-owned small business.
All three men have pleaded guilty.
According to the evidence, Cho’s criminal activities took place between 2007 and 2011.
Officials said Cho admitted paying over $17 million in bribes to Khan and about $1 million to Alexander to obtain and retain government contracts and to conspiring with public officials to steer a nearly $1 billion planned government contract to Nova Datacom.
Cho also admitted paying about $700,000 in kickbacks to Babb to facilitate the processing of Nova Datacom’s invoices, authorities said.
From in or about 2008 through March 2011, Cho ordered Nova Datacom to submit invoices for equipment and services to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for approximately $45 million, official said.
Of that amount, he admitted that over $18 million was inflated and/or fictitious.
Khan has been sentenced to 19 years and seven months in prison.
Alexander was sentenced to six years in prison, and Babb was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison, according to officials.