FLORIDA
A federal judge sentenced a retired U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant today to 18 months in prison for disclosing confidential bid information for government contracts and tax fraud, according to authorities.
U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom of Florida ordered Trevor Smith to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the amount of $6,501, officials said.
According to court documents, Smith retired from the U.S. Air Force in December 2012 at the rank of Master Sergeant.
From February 2009 through February 2010, Smith was deployed to Afghanistan, where he served as Supply Non-Commissioned Officer-In-Charge for the Operation Enduring Freedom/Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan NATO Training Mission.
In that capacity, Smith met a Fort Lauderdale-based government contractor.
As part of his plea, Smith admitted that he agreed to disclose confidential bid information on government contracts to the contractor in exchange for bribe payments. Smith and the contractor agreed that Smith would receive two percent of all revenues on contracts that the contractor received as a result of Smith’s assistance.
In January 2010, the contractor wired $42,853 to Smith, officials said.
The two agreed to wait until Smith returned to the United States for more payments.
After returning to the United States, Smith set up a shell corporation called T Star Air Inc. to receive 23 additional payments totaling $220,600. Smith also created and submitted phony invoices to conceal the scheme.
For tax years 2010 through 2012, Smith filed corporate tax returns for T Star Air that falsely claimed inflated expenses and deductions, according to officials.