GREENBELT, MD—A U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contracting officer and three corporate executives have pleaded guilty in a decadelong bribery scheme involving more than $550 million in federal contracts, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland announced this week. Two companies involved in the scheme also admitted criminal liability and entered into deferred prosecution agreements.
Roderick Watson, 57, of Woodstock, Maryland, a USAID contracting officer, pleaded guilty to bribery of a public official. Three company executives — Walter Barnes, 46, of Potomac, Maryland; Darryl Britt, 64, of Myakka City, Florida; and Paul Young, 62, of Columbia, Maryland — each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official. Barnes also pleaded guilty to securities fraud.
The companies, Apprio and Vistant, both federal contractors, agreed to admit criminal liability for conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official and securities fraud. Under their three-year deferred prosecution agreements, both companies committed to ongoing cooperation with the Justice Department, implementing compliance and ethics programs, and reporting on their remediation efforts.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Kelly O. Hayes condemned Watson’s actions, stating they “undermine the integrity of our public institutions.” Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, added that the defendants “sought to enrich themselves at the expense of the American taxpayers.”
According to court documents, the bribery scheme began in 2013, with Watson agreeing to accept bribes from Britt in exchange for influencing the award of contracts to Apprio. Apprio, a certified small business under the SBA 8(a) program, could access non-competitive federal contracts. After Apprio graduated from the program, Vistant became the prime contractor with Apprio as a subcontractor, continuing the scheme until 2022.
Britt and Barnes allegedly paid bribes to Watson, often concealed by passing them through Young, who was president of another subcontractor. Bribes included cash, laptops, NBA game tickets, a country club wedding, down payments on two residential mortgages, cellular phones and jobs for relatives. Watson is accused of receiving more than $1 million in bribes.
In exchange, Watson manipulated USAID’s procurement process, recommending the companies for non-competitive awards, disclosing sensitive bidding information, providing positive performance evaluations, and approving contract decisions like increased funding and security clearances.
Both Apprio and Vistant also settled related civil False Claims Act investigations.
Separate securities fraud schemes were also detailed. In 2022, Barnes and Watson allegedly defrauded a small business investment company (SBIC) into a credit agreement with Vistant by omitting the bribery in Watson’s endorsement of the company. In 2023, Apprio, through Britt, allegedly defrauded a private equity firm that was also an SBIC, inducing it to purchase an equity stake and extend a loan by intentionally omitting details of the ongoing bribery.
Apprio agreed to a criminal penalty of $51.6 million but demonstrated an inability to pay, resulting in a civil settlement of $500,000. Vistant agreed to a criminal penalty of $86.4 million, similarly settling for $100,000 due to an inability to pay. Both companies received reductions for their cooperation and remediation efforts.
Watson faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison, with sentencing scheduled for Oct. 6. Young, Britt, and Barnes each face a maximum of five years. Young’s sentencing is set for Sept. 3, Britt’s for July 28, and Barnes’s for Oct. 14.
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