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

State: California
Category: Public Corruption
Source: <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/former-public-official-and-california-contractor-sentenced-bid-rigging-and-bribery" style="color:#cc0000;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">DOJ Press Release ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Â Ã¢â‚¬â€

In a shocking case of corruption, Choon Foo “Keith” Yong, a former Caltrans contract manager, and William D. Opp, a former contractor, have been sentenced for their roles in a bid-rigging and bribery scheme involving Caltrans improvement and repair contracts.

According to court documents, Yong and Opp engaged in a conspiracy from early 2015 through late 2019 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. Yong also pleaded guilty to 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, totaling nearly $1 million.

Yong, 49, was sentenced to 49 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay $984,699.53 in restitution. Opp, 45, was sentenced to 45 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay $797,940.23 in restitution. This is the second and third co-conspirators to be sentenced in the case, following the sentencing of former construction company owner Bill R. Miller to 78 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay nearly $1 million in restitution.

The investigation was a joint effort between 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).

Prosecutors praised the sentencing, stating that the defendants’ abuse of public trust and the length and breadth of the criminal conduct fully warrant the sentences. “Bribes have no place in government contracting,” said U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert for the Eastern District of California.

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