Federal contractors and a USAID official have just been convicted of funneling over half a billion dollars in taxpayer-funded aid to politically connected companies in exchange for bribes, cash, gifts, and even basketball tickets, the Justice Department revealed Friday.
Roderick Watson, a now-disgraced USAID contracting officer, admitted to taking more than $1 million in bribes over nearly a decade in return for awarding $544 million in “foreign aid” contracts to select firms that falsely claimed “disadvantaged” status under racial set-aside rules.
“Watson exploited his position at USAID to line his pockets,” said Guy Ficco of IRS Criminal Investigations.
“He helped three company owners bypass the fair bidding process and was showered with cash and lavish gifts.”
The key to the scheme? A federal program known as 8(a) contracting, which allows agencies to skip competitive bidding and hand out contracts to businesses owned by minorities, women, or veterans, no questions asked.
Walter Barnes III, founder of Vistant (formerly PM Consulting Group) in Maryland, bribed Watson with a cash stream, a country-club wedding, and a Martha’s Vineyard trip.
Vistant secured tens of millions in contracts, then passed the work to real operators behind the scenes.
Barnes, who claimed “disadvantaged” status to win contracts on account of being black, used a taxpayer-funded public defender in court.
The judge wasn’t buying it, however.
Also in on the deal was Darryl Britt, head of Washington-based Apprio Inc.
Britt has scored $271 million in federal contracts since 2004.
He even sat on Carnegie Mellon’s Business Board of Advisers while allegedly doling out monthly bribes to Watson for nearly a decade.
When Apprio got too big to qualify for set-asides, it simply teamed up with Vistant to create a fake joint venture.
Vistant received the contracts, Apprio did the work, and everyone kicked back their cut, except the taxpayers.
“Hundreds of payments,” prosecutors said in a statement.
“Lavish gifts. Jobs for relatives. Basketball suites. It was all there.”
Court documents detail a deep level of corruption.
In March 2018, Watson pushed through a non-competitive $25.5 million contract for Vistant.
The next day, a luxury suite was rented for $3,000 so Watson could enjoy a Washington Wizards game.
One contract listed simply as “professional management services from an 8(a) contractor” totaled $25 million.
Other absurd entries: $15 million “to help protect cyberspace,” $204,000 for a senior advisor in Belarus, and $40 million for “creation of the PDEX award” (whatever that is).
The total: $257 million awarded, and $287 million more lined up before the scheme finally collapsed.
If this sounds familiar, it should. USAID has long been criticized for pouring billions into foreign aid with little oversight and less accountability.
The Trump administration tried to shut it down, citing massive waste and political favoritism.
Democrats howled in protest.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) claimed only “$50 million” had been misused. Turns out, he was off by 1,000%.
Despite stealing hundreds of millions in rigged contracts, Apprio and Vistant won’t pay anywhere near full restitution.
DOJ originally demanded $52 million and $86 million from the companies, but accepted $500,000 and $100,000 instead, citing inability to pay.
“Deferred criminal prosecution” was offered.
No trial and no prosecution for the firms.
Watson faces up to 15 years in prison, while the company owners face just 5 for orchestrating one of the largest government contract bribery schemes in recent history.
This wasn’t just some rogue actor or one-off grift.
It was a decade-long, taxpayer-funded, race-hustle pipeline operated from inside the federal government, enabled by identity politics and ignored by oversight agencies.
If you’re wondering where your foreign aid dollars went, they’re in a Martha’s Vineyard timeshare, a Wizards suite, and a country club wedding tab.
Welcome to Diversity, Equity, and Embezzlement, brought to you by the federal government.
READ MORE – Obama’s USAID Scheme Exposed: Taxpayer Funds Used to Provoke Unrest with ‘Rent-a-Riots’
