Two Singaporeans Sentenced in U.S. for Navy Corruption and Fraud Scheme

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday August 14, 2017

In the latest development of a long-running investigation into corruption related to procurement for the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Public Affairs says two former executives of foreign defence contractor Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA) have been sentenced for conspiring to submit bogus claims and invoices to the U.S. Navy.

As Ship & Bunker previously reported, GDMA held contracts to restock, repair, refuel and clean the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet that federal authorities have said were worth over $200 million over 10 years.

GDMA was accused of overbilling the U.S. Navy, demanding kickbacks from subcontractors, and bribing officials for inside information.

Neil Peterson and Linda Raja, both of Singapore, were sentenced this week to 70 and 46 months in prison, respectively, for their part in the years-long corruption and fraud scheme.

"According to admissions made as part of Peterson's and Raja's plea agreements, they and other members of GDMA's management team created and submitted fraudulent bids that were either entirely fictitious, contained falsified prices supposedly from actual businesses, or fraudulently stated that the business shown on the letterhead could not provide the items or services requested," explained DOJ.

"In this manner, Peterson, Raja and other members of GDMA's core management team could ensure that GDMA's quote would be selected by the U.S. Navy as the supposed low bidder.  GDMA could thus control and inflate the prices charged to the U.S. Navy without any true, competitive bidding, as required, they admitted."

So far, 17 of 27 defendants charged in the bribery and fraud scandal have pleaded guilty.