NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – A civilian employee of the United States Marine Corps Reserves is headed to federal prison after admitting to a brazen bribery scheme. ERIK MARTIN, 49, was sentenced on June 29, 2021, to 45 months behind bars by U.S. District Judge Wendy B. Vitter for accepting $100,000 in kickbacks in exchange for rigging transportation contracts. He’ll also face two years of supervised release after completing his sentence and will be required to pay restitution, the amount to be determined in a later hearing.
The scheme centered around Darrel Fitzpatrick, a businessman from Atlanta. In 2019, Fitzpatrick was a senior account manager at Company A, a bus brokerage servicing the Marine Corps Reserves. He then launched a competing firm, National Charter Express, and that’s where the corruption began. Fitzpatrick agreed to pay MARTIN to direct contracts to both companies. Over six months, at least $2,000,000 in transportation contracts were fraudulently awarded to Fitzpatrick’s businesses.
Federal investigators traced over $250,000 in bribe payments wired and attempted to be wired from Fitzpatrick to MARTIN through at least four separate transactions. MARTIN pled guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Bribery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 371 and 201(b)(2), facing a maximum of five years imprisonment, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment. The sentencing reflects the severity of his betrayal of public trust.
Fitzpatrick is also facing charges for his role in the scheme and is scheduled to be sentenced July 8, 2021, before U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier. Authorities have already seized approximately $1,000,000 in criminal proceeds connected to the pair, a significant win for taxpayers. The investigation highlights a systematic effort to exploit the Department of the Navy’s procurement process for personal gain.
“This sentencing should serve as a warning that perpetrators who seek to defraud the Department of the Navy will always be exposed and investigated to the fullest extent,” stated NCIS Southeast Field Office Special Agent in Charge Thomas Cannizzo. “MARTIN’s reprehensible scheme damaged the integrity of the DON procurement process, wasted American taxpayer money, and squandered valuable investigative resources.”
DCIS Special Agent in Charge Cynthia Bruce added, “I am pleased that we were able to secure a significant forfeiture to take back ill-gotten gains from the defendants and send the message that ultimately crime does not pay.” The investigation was a collaborative effort between the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), and the United States Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Myles Ranier and Andre Lagarde are prosecuting the case.
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Key Facts
- Agency: U.S. Secret Service
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Press Release
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