Hayat Choudhary, Bribery, Georgia 2017

Atlanta business owner Hayat Choudhary, CEO of Atlanta Airport Shuttle Services, Inc., d/b/a Meskerem Restaurant, has pleaded guilty to bribery for paying $20,000 in cash to a City of Atlanta Department of Procurement official to secure a contract at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

According to U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak, the charges and other information presented in court, Choudhary paid a $10,000 bribe to “Official-1,” the Department of Procurement official responsible for overseeing the bidding process, to obtain the contract. After the first bribe payment, Official-1 instructed Choudhary that he had to pay another $10,000 to receive the contract. Choudhary paid the second $10,000 bribe, and following his payment of $20,000 to Official-1, the City of Atlanta awarded the contract to Choudhary’s company.

The City of Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the principal airport for Georgia and the southeastern United States, generating more than $500 million in revenue for the City of Atlanta in 2017, including approximately $8.8 million in fees and charges from private ground transportation companies.

Choudhary, 58, of Lilburn, Georgia, was charged in a Criminal Information with, and pleaded guilty to, conspiracy to commit bribery. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor C. Wilmot is prosecuting the case. According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court, “Pay-to-play bribery schemes cause citizens to lose trust in the integrity of the contracting process. Public corruption involving government officials is reprehensible. Our office remains committed to eliminating corruption in government at all levels, and we want to thank the City of Atlanta for its cooperation in this investigation.”

Hayat Choudhary, 58, of Lilburn, Georgia, was charged in a Criminal Information with, and pleaded guilty to, conspiracy to commit bribery. The exact date of the crime is on or about May 2, 2017. The sentence or outcome is not specified in this article, but Choudhary has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery.

The City of Atlanta’s Department of Procurement was responsible for acquiring all services for Atlanta’s airport, and the Department of Procurement’s “Guiding Principles” commit its personnel to “award contracts that are consistent with the policy, regulations, rules, and laws,” and “without regard for personal gain.”

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga/pr/business-owner-pleads-guilty-bribing-city-atlanta-official-win-contract-atlanta-s