A USAID official and three government contractors pleaded guilty to a decade-long bribery scheme involving over $550 million in contracts, according to the Justice Department.
According to court documents, beginning in 2013, USAID official Roderick Wilson agreed with corporate executive Darryl Britt to receive bribes in exchange for Watson’s influence to award contracts to a small business named Apprio and its subcontractor Vistant.
Watson received more than $1 million in bribes to steer no-bid contracts to Apprio and Vistant.
A race-based government program that allowed ‘socially and economically disadvantaged businesses’ to bid on contracts made this massive scheme possible.