President and CEO of Technology Company Sentenced for Bribery of a Public Official in D.C. Technology Office case

WASHINGTON—Sushil Bansal, President and CEO of Advanced Integrated Technology Corporation (AITC), was sentenced today to two concurrent 20-month terms of imprisonment for his role in a bribery and kickback scheme, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Shawn Henry, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Charles J. Willoughby, Inspector General for the District of Columbia, announced today.

Bansal, 43, of Dunn Loring, Virginia, pled guilty April 27, 2010 to bribery of a public official and to engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity. Bansal’s company, AITC, had also entered a plea of guilty to the same charges. Bansal was sentenced today by the Honorable Henry H. Kennedy, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In addition to the prison sentence, Bansal and his company were ordered to pay $844,765.50 in restitution to the District of Columbia government. A three-year period of supervised release following Bansal’s release from prison was also imposed.

During his guilty plea, Bansal admitted that between September 2005 and March 12, 2009 he and his company paid more than $700,000 in bribes to Yusuf Acar, Farrukh Awan and to a cooperating witness, who were then employees of the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Technology Officer. Acar and Awan previously pled guilty to federal charges and are scheduled to be sentenced on August 12, 2010.

Bansal and AITC paid the bribes in exchange for the public officials (1) improperly favoring Bansal and his companies, AITC and Integrated IT Solutions, Inc. (IITS), for award of contracts with the Office of the Chief Technology Officer; (2) ensuring that contractors proposed by Bansal, AITC and IITS were approved; (3) falsely approving time sheets and invoices for AITC and IITS employees which represented overbilling; (4) falsely approving time sheets for AITC and IITS employees which were actually “ghost employees” and performed no work; and (5) falsely certifying receipt of software purchased through Bansal and AITC. Bansal and AITC also admitted to engaging in 17 transactions, each over $10,000, that involved the bribe money and which utilized financial institutions.

“Mr. Bansal's sentence of 20 months in federal prison should make it clear to those who would engage in kickback schemes and seek to bribe public officials that these actions have consequences in the District of Columbia,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “Whenever anyone violates the public trust and breaks the law, we will prosecute them vigorously.”

Assistant Director Henry said: “The misuse of public office for personal gain is a blatant disregard for what the office represents. It’s offensive to the citizens of the District of Columbia who trust their government officials to ethically carry out their duties, and to the thousands of government officials in the city who commit themselves to faithfully serve the public.”

In announcing the sentencing, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director Henry, and D.C. Inspector General Willoughby commended the outstanding investigative work of the Special Agents from the FBI’s Washington Field Office, as well as Special Agent Teddy Clark and the late Special Agent Lloyd Hodge of the D.C. Office of the Inspector General. They also acknowledged the efforts of U.S. Attorney’s Office paralegals Diane Hayes, Tasha Harris and Maggie McCabe, former legal assistant Lisa Robinson, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Hibarger and Glenn Leon, who are prosecuting this case.