Choon Foo “Keith” Yong, Bid Rigging and Bribery, California 2022

Greedy Officials Put Public Trust at Risk

A former Caltrans contract manager and a former contractor have been sentenced for their roles in a bid-rigging and bribery scheme involving Caltrans improvement and repair contracts. Choon Foo “Keith” Yong and William D. Opp were found guilty of conspiring to thwart the competitive bidding process for Caltrans contracts, ensuring that companies controlled by Yong’s co-conspirators submitted the winning bid and would be awarded the contract.

According to a plea agreement filed on April 11, 2022, Yong and his co-conspirators engaged in a conspiracy from early 2015 through late 2019. Yong also pleaded guilty for accepting bribes while working for Caltrans, a California state agency that receives significant federal funding. Yong received the bribes in the form of cash payments, wine, furniture, and remodeling services on his home, valued at nearly $1 million.

William D. Opp, the former contractor, was sentenced to 45 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay $797,940.23 in restitution. Opp formed a separate construction company, with his wife as the nominal president, to submit sham bids on Caltrans contracts. During his participation in the conspiracy, Opp and co-conspirators provided nearly $800,000 in cash bribes and other benefits to Yong.

The sentencing is the result of a joint investigation conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, and the FBI’s Sacramento Field Office as part of the Justice Department’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF).

“These criminals put greed and personal gain ahead of the public trust and are being punished accordingly,” said Director Daniel Glad of the PCSF. “The Antitrust Division and our PCSF partners are on the lookout for those that try to cheat on government contracts.”

A former Caltrans employee and a contractor have been sentenced for a conspiracy that cheated a state agency out of taxpayer funds and that, if left unchecked, could threaten to undermine public confidence in the proper functioning of government institutions.

The defendants’ abuse of public trust and the length and breadth of the criminal conduct fully warrant today’s sentences. Bribes have no place in government contracting.”

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