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Raytosha Elliott, Corruption, Georgia 2024
ATLANTA – A former contracting official with the Georgia National Guard has pleaded guilty to awarding contracts in exchange for illegal kickbacks. Raytosha Elliott used her position to award numerous contracts under $5,000 to vendor companies created by her friends and associates.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: From May 2007 through April 2012, Elliott worked for the Georgia Department of Defense, the state agency charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the Georgia National Guard. Elliott worked as an Engineering Operations Manager out of the Clay National Guard Center, located at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, in Marietta, Georgia.
In that position, Elliott worked with engineering firms to develop bid-ready construction projects, prepared bid documents, and oversaw no-bid purchase orders. Under the rules governing the contracting process that Elliott oversaw, projects that cost less than $5,000 did not need to go through a competitive bidding process, allowing Elliott to award the contracts. She certified that the work had been completed for those projects, and facilitated payment to the vendors who allegedly completed such projects.
Elliott awarded numerous contracts under $5,000 to vendor companies created by her friends and associates, including co-defendant Lakeysha Ellis. In return, Ellis paid Elliott kickbacks, equal to 50% of the value of the contracts, for steering the contracts to Ellis’ vendor company, Total Source Solution, LLC. Elliott falsely certified that work had been completed when, in fact, it had not.
Elliott awarded Total Source Solution 17 contracts with a total value of approximately $75,000. Those contracts were for a variety of services supposedly to be performed by Total Source Solution, including electrical work, landscaping, and HVAC work. But the work was never done. Instead, the defendants split the money awarded under these contracts and spent it on personal items, including travel, meals, merchandise, and even liposuction treatment for Ellis.
The guilty plea should send a message that there is a price to pay for such a betrayal of trust as seen in this case, said J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office. The case also represents the FBI’s commitment to those investigations that protect the integrity of government funds and assets.
“Ms. Elliott abused her position with the Georgia National Guard by awarding no-bid contracts to her friends in exchange for illegal kickbacks,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn. “She and one friend alone pocketed nearly $75,000 in funds that were intended to maintain facilities supporting those who serve this country.”
Key Facts
- State: Georgia
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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