Following the guilty plea of a former contracting official with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., a second executive from a federal contracting firm has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a bribery conspiracy.
The second federal contractor, James N. Girardi, 39, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to bribe a public official in U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
On May 4, Jeffrey B. Donahue, the PBGC's former director of procurement, and Nadeem Ansari, president and chief executive officer of Mr. Girardi's firm, which the Justice Department did not name in a news release, pleaded guilty to similar offenses. Sentencing for Mr. Donahue, who served director of the procurement department from March 2014 to February 2020, and Mr. Ansari is scheduled for Sept. 11. Sentencing for Mr. Girardi is scheduled for Jan. 6.
From at least 2015 through August 2017, Mr. Donahue solicited and received cash payments and other things of value, including the promise of a job valued at $1 million, from Mr. Ansari and with Mr. Girardi's knowledge and agreement, according to court documents referenced by the Justice Department. In exchange, Mr. Donahue agreed to steer PBGC contracts to Mr. Ansari and Mr. Girardi's company.
Mr. Donahue in 2015 approached the firm with an offer to win a PBGC contract, worth approximately $55 million, in exchange for a future job with the company. The Justice Department said Mr. Donahue provided Mr. Ansari with sample bid proposals; helped draft, review and edit the company's bid proposal; and disclosed labor pricing estimates. When the company did not win the contract, Mr. Donahue then helped Mr. Ansari draft the company's bid protest.
In 2016, Mr. Donahue proposed another arrangement with Mr. Ansari in which the PBGC official would receive up to $125,000 in exchange for steering a contract to their company. The PBGC awarded the contract to Mr. Ansari and Mr. Girardi's company, which resulted in payments to the company totaling approximately $3.29 million, according to the Justice Department.
Mr. Donahue steered the contract by, among other things, providing sensitive, non-public information to Mr. Ansari, providing guidance for contract pricing and adjusting the terms of the contract to align with the qualifications of the company's personnel, the Justice Department noted.
The PBGC official received at least $48,000 in cash, plus additional gifts.
In May, PBGC Director Gordon Hartogensis in a statement said: "Fraud, abuse and any other illegal and unethical behaviors have no place in the federal government's operations. ... I am committed to making sure the agency's employees and contractors operate responsibly, transparently, and in accordance with the law, which is why I requested a full investigation into our procurement department and its oversight. We will continue working with the inspector general's office to uphold the high standards we've set for ourselves since my confirmation and to ethically and effectively carry out PBGC's critical mission."
