WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th January, 2022) The US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has sentenced a former Department of Defense official to 7.5 years in prison for accepting bribes and other fraudulent activities while overseeing a Federal telecommunications contract at the Office of Inspector General, the Department of Justice said on Friday.
"A former official of the US Department of Defense's Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG) was sentenced today to 7.5 years in prison for accepting bribes and defrauding the government, among other crimes, in relation to a contract he oversaw at the DoD OIG," the Department of Justice said in a press release.
The defendant, Matthew LumHo, was employed at the Department of Defense's Information Services Directorate and responsible for the administration of a contract that would allow ordering telecommunications services and equipment from a national telecommunications company, the release said.
Beginning in 2012, LumHo solicited and accepted bribes from co-conspirator William Wilson to steer information technology services to Wilson's company, which received business without any competition and despite lack of any relevant experience, the release said.
LumHo and Wilson were defrauding the US government by dramatically increasing the prices for standard IT support that was described as specialized IT-related support in service orders, the release also said.
Co-conspirators used payroll payments to a relative of LumHo to hide and later cash the bribes deposited into an account controlled by LumHo, the release added.
Wilson is scheduled to be sentenced on February 4, according to the release.
