John Kays, Bribery, Maryland 2016

Baltimore, Maryland – In a shocking case of corruption, a federal grand jury has indicted John Kays, 42, of Bel Air, Maryland, and Matthew Barrow, 42, of Toledo, Ohio, on conspiracy and bribery charges related to contracting at the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), in Harford County, Maryland.

The indictment, returned on June 21, 2016 and unsealed on June 24, 2016, alleges that Kays and Barrow engaged in a bribery scheme from December 2010 to June 2014. According to the indictment, Kays, a civilian employee of the Army, agreed to take official actions favorable to Barrow and his company, MJ-6, LLC, in return for Barrow paying Kays approximately $157,000 in cash.

The indictment alleges that Kays used his official position to add MJ-6 as a subcontractor acceptable to the Army and suggested to prime contractors that MJ-6 be added as a subcontractor on the task order. Barrow allegedly withdrew cash from his personal accounts and from MJ-6 accounts and delivered the payments to Kays in Maryland.

Kays and Barrow each face a maximum sentence of five years in prison for conspiracy and a maximum of 15 years in prison for bribery. They also face $250,000 in criminal fines or three times the value of whatever Kays was illegally paid, plus forfeiture of the proceeds of the offense.

The court has entered an order restraining the assets of Kays in Harford County, including real estate, a Nissan Armada, a 2012 BMW, a 2012 Yamaha power boat, and a pair of diamond earrings. An order has also been entered restraining the assets of Barrow in Toledo, including two pieces of real estate, a 2016 GMC Yukon, a 2015 Buick Enclave, a 2011 GMC Yukon Denali, a power boat, a Wave Runner, and funds in three bank accounts.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

The National Procurement Fraud Task Force was formed in October 2006 to promote the early detection, identification, prevention, and prosecution of procurement fraud associated with the increase in government contracting activity.

No trial date has been set.

Related Federal Cases