A Pennsylvania man has pleaded guilty to bribing a federal official and defrauding the Federal Aviation Administration in Moses Lake, Washington.
Christopher Hamilton Clemens, 42, currently of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and formerly of Clarkston, Washington, pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Defraud the United States in connection with bribing a federal contracting official with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and fraudulently obtaining a contract with the FAA in Moses Lake, Washington.
The plea agreement states that Calandra Charging Eagle was a contracting official at the BIA, in its Albuquerque, New Mexico office. BIA is a federal agency that, among other things, provides funding and oversight for improvement projects on American Indian land and facilities.
According to court documents, through her position as a contracting official at BIA, Charging Eagle had access to internal and confidential BIA estimates and other information regarding potential contracts, and had a role in approving contracts, modifications, and invoices.
In 2018, between June and October, Clemens and Charging Eagle engaged in a bribery scheme in which Clemens agreed to pay a $10,700 debt owed by Charging Eagle to the Sandia Resort and Casino, a resort, casino, and event center located in Albuquerque. In return, Charging Eagle agreed to use her position to steer BIA contracts, including an over half-million dollar contract to provide lightning protection improvements at the Navajo Nation’s Pine Hill School in New Mexico, to Clemens and his companies.
The grand jury returned an indictment charging Clemens and Charging Eagle with Conspiracy to Defraud the United States and felony counts of paying and accepting a bribe, respectively. Charging Eagle pleaded guilty to one count of violating 18 U.S.C. Sec. 201(b)(2), Public Official Accepting a Bribe, as a result of her role in the scheme and conspiracy with Clemens, and was sentenced to two years of probation.
Clemens, who had entered into a pre-trial diversion agreement, falsely certified that he was not prohibited from engaging in federal contracting. He went on to fraudulently obtain a design-build contract with the FAA in Moses Lake, Washington, and received $479,818 under the contract.
Defendant: Christopher Hamilton Clemens
Criminal Charges: Conspiracy to Defraud the United States
City and State: Spokane, Washington
Date: January 2022 (plea agreement), August 2022 (fraudulent contract), October 2023 (plea)
Sentence: to be determined
Dollar Amount: $10,700 (bribe), $479,818 (fraudulent contract)
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Key Facts
- State: Washington
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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