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WASHINGTON (March
15, 2009) - Yusuf
Acar, the Acting
Chief Security
Officer of the
District of
Columbia’s Office of
the Chief Technology
Officer (OCTO), and
Sushil Bansal, a
former District
employee and current
President and Chief
Executive Officer of
Advanced Integrated
Technologies
Corporation (AITC),
have been charged in
separate federal
complaints for their
roles in an alleged
bribery scheme, U.S.
Attorney Jeffrey A.
Taylor, Joseph
Persichini, Jr.,
Assistant Director
in Charge of the
FBI’s Washington
Field Office,
Special Agent in
Charge of the
Internal Revenue
Service’s Criminal
Investigation
Division C. Andre’
Martin, and Charles
J. Willoughby,
Inspector General
for the District of
Columbia, announced
today.
Acar, 40, of the
4500 block of Branch
Road, NW,
Washington, D.C.,
was charged in a
four-count complaint
that charges him
with Conspiracy to
Commit Bribery,
Honest Services Wire
Fraud, Conflict of
Interest, and
Conspiracy to
Launder Monetary
Instruments. Bansal,
41, of Dunn Loring,
Virginia, was
charged in a
two-count complaint
that charges him
with Conspiracy to
Commit Bribery and
Conspiracy to
Launder Monetary
Instruments. Both
were taken into
custody Thursday by
FBI and D.C. OIG
special agents as
part of an ongoing
investigation. The
two defendants were
presented on the
charges this
afternoon before
U.S. Magistrate John
Facciola in the U.S.
District Court for
the District of
Columbia. The
maximum penalty for
conspiracy to commit
bribery is 5 years’
incarceration; the
maximum penalty for
honest services wire
fraud is 20 years’
incarceration; the
maximum penalty for
conflict of interest
is 5 years’
incarceration; and
the maximum penalty
for conspiracy to
launder monetary
instruments is 20
years’
incarceration.
According to the
Affidavit in Support
of the Arrest
Warrants, the two
defendants are
alleged to have
stolen large sums of
money from the
District of Columbia
through a variety of
schemes that began
as part of a
conspiracy in May
2008. In one scheme,
a quantity of goods
was ordered by OCTO
from a vendor such
as AITC. The vendor
actually ordered a
lesser number of the
item from the
distributor, but
billed the D.C.
government for the
full amount
originally requested
by OCTO. An OCTO
official, such as
Yusuf Acar,
allegedly falsely
certified that the
greater quantity was
actually received
and the vendor
billed the District
of Columbia
Government for the
greater amount and
was paid
accordingly. The
co-conspirators then
split the proceeds
of the crime.
A second scheme
involved billing for
“ghost employees.”
These are contract
employees supposedly
hired by a vendor,
such as AITC, to
perform work under a
specific contract
for OCTO. However,
these ghost
employees never
actually performed
any work under the
contract. The
vendor, who is
involved in the
scheme, billed the
D.C. government for
the employees’
hours. An OCTO
official, such as
Yusuf Acar,
allegedly approved
the time sheet so
that the vendor can
be paid. The money
was then split
between the
co-conspirators.
“The residents of
the District of
Columbia deserve an
ethical government
and have the right
to know that their
money is being spent
honestly and for the
public good,” said
U.S. Attorney
Taylor. “Whenever
anyone violates the
public trust and
breaks the law, we
will prosecute them
vigorously.”
“My
administration is
fully committed to
cooperating with the
U.S. Attorney’s
Office and the
Office of the
Inspector General in
their ongoing
investigation within
the Office of the
Chief Technology
Officer (OCTO),”
stated Mayor Adrian
M. Fenty. “In the
meantime, OCTO will
continue maintaining
and supporting the
District’s
technology
operations while
supporting
investigation
efforts. The
administration will
ensure that, where
appropriate,
employees are held
accountable for
their actions.”
“The FBI and its
law enforcement
partners are
committed to
fighting public
corruption and
ensuring ethical
public service,”
said FBI Assistant
Director in Charge
Persichini. “This
investigation is an
example of what
greed can do and how
stressful economic
times require even
more vigilance to
protect the public’s
interest.”
“Regardless of one’s
status or position,
when a public
official elects to
betray the public’s
trust for personal
gain, the very core
of how and why our
system of government
operates is
immediately and
negatively
impacted,” IRS
Special Agent in
Charge Martin said
today. “Therefore,
in partnership with
the U.S. Attorney’s
Office, the FBI, and
the D.C. Office of
the Inspector
General, the IRS
Criminal
Investigation
Division gives
priority to
investigations
involving the
alleged breach of
the public trust by
government officials
at any level.”
This matter
continues to be an
ongoing
investigation. A
complaint is merely
a formal charge that
a defendant has
committed a
violation of
criminal laws and
every defendant is
presumed innocent
until, and unless,
proven guilty. In
announcing the
indictment, U.S.
Attorney Taylor, FBI
Assistant Director
in Charge Persichini,
IRS Special Agent in
Charge Martin, and
D.C. Inspector
General Willoughby
commended the
outstanding
investigative work
of the special
agents of the FBI,
IRS, and D.C. Office
of the Inspector
General. They also
acknowledged the
efforts of Assistant
U.S. Attorneys
Thomas Hibarger and
Glenn Leon, who will
prosecute the case.
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