Navy Official James Soriano Admits to $Millions in Bribery

SAN DIEGO, CA – James Soriano, formerly of the Naval Information Warfare Center in San Diego, has confessed to a brazen scheme of bribery that funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars into his pockets while greasing the wheels for defense contractors vying for lucrative government contracts. The June 11, 2024 guilty plea in federal court reveals a systematic abuse of public trust, with Soriano admitting to accepting lavish gifts, jobs for family, and outright cash in exchange for insider access and preferential treatment.

The scale of the corruption is staggering. According to the Department of Justice, Soriano, of Las Vegas, Nevada, manipulated the contracting process to benefit companies competing for hundreds of millions of dollars in government funds. The bribes weren’t petty gestures; they included fine dining at establishments like Ruth’s Chris, Island Prime, and Providence, tickets to major sporting events – the 2018 MLB All-Star Game, World Series, and the 2019 Superbowl – and, crucially, employment opportunities for his family and friends. One associate, Liberty Gutierrez, allegedly funneled $2,000 a month from her salary, earned at a company benefiting from the rigged system, directly to Soriano.

Soriano’s actions weren’t limited to accepting gifts. He actively interfered with the procurement process, allowing contractors to draft government documents and ensuring their submissions were favored. He also deliberately concealed the illicit payments, including those from Gutierrez, on his 2018 tax return, adding a charge of filing a false return to his mounting legal woes. The investigation revealed a pattern of behavior stretching from approximately March 2016 through at least October 2019.

The DOJ identified multiple co-conspirators. Philip Flores, President and CEO of Intellipeak Solutions, Inc., based in Fredericksburg, Virginia, allegedly bribed Soriano alongside a separate defense contractor with offices in San Diego and Stafford, Virginia, who provided Soriano’s wife with a job and access to exclusive golf clubs. Russell Thurston, Vice President of Cambridge International Systems, Inc., headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, is also implicated in the scheme, having allegedly bribed Soriano from June 2014 through at least October 2019.

“The nation’s robust contracting apparatus relies on honesty and fairness,” stated U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. “This guilty plea demonstrates a commitment to the integrity of the system by holding accountable a defendant who lined his own pockets at the expense of taxpayers.” Bryan D. Denny, Special Agent in Charge for the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, added that Soriano “betrayed the trust the U.S. Navy placed in him,” and his actions should serve as a “deterrent for others contemplating or attempting to misuse a position of public trust.”

NCIS Special Agent in Charge Greg Gross echoed the sentiment, stating Soriano “put his own interests above U.S. Navy warfighters, trustworthy businesses, and our country’s taxpayers.” While sentencing details haven’t been released, Soriano now faces the consequences of a calculated betrayal of public trust, a case that underscores the ongoing battle against corruption within the defense contracting industry. The investigation remains ongoing, and further indictments are possible.