A former commander of the U.S. Naval Forces in Europe and Africa was arrested Friday in connection with an alleged bribery scheme that officials say involved steering government contracts to a company in exchange for future employment, according to the Justice Department.
Robert Burke, 62, is accused of participating in the bribery scheme during his tenure as a four-star admiral from 2020 to 2022. According to an indictment unsealed Friday, Burke allegedly met with the co-CEOs of the unidentified company, Yongchul “Charlie” Kim and Meghan Messenger, in 2021 in an effort to re-establish its business relationship with the Navy — despite its contract being terminated in 2019 and the Navy instructing the company not to contact the admiral.
“At the meeting, the charged defendants allegedly agreed that Burke would use his position as a Navy Admiral to steer a sole-source contract to Company A in exchange for future employment at the company,” the Justice Department said in a news release. “They allegedly further agreed that Burke would use his official position to influence other Navy officers to award another contract to Company A to train a large portion of the Navy with a value Kim allegedly estimated to be ‘triple digit millions.’”
In 2021, Burke allegedly awarded a $355,000 contract to the company to train personnel in Italy and Spain. The Justice Department claims Burke attempted to conceal the scheme by making “several false and misleading statements to the Navy,” including that he didn’t play a role in issuing a contract to the company, and that discussions about his employment there began months after the contract was issued.
Burke began working at the company in October 2022, according to the Justice Department.
Burke was charged with conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, performing acts affecting a personal financial interest and concealing material facts from the U.S. He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
NBC News has reached out to an attorney for Burke.
Kim and Messenger were each charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and bribery, per the Justice Department. They each face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. It’s not clear if Kim and Messenger have attorneys representing them at this time.
The Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the FBI are investigating the case.
