NORFOLK, VA—A former employee of a government contracting company, was sentenced today to 36 months in prison for conspiracy to bribe public officials at the United States Navy Military Sealift Command.

United States Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Susan Triesch of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Norfolk Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office made the announcement today after McPhail’s sentencing before United States Chief District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith of the Eastern District of Virginia.

Michael P. McPhail, 49, pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging him with conspiracy to commit bribery on Feb. 19 2014. According to his plea documents, McPhail is a former employee of a Chesapeake, Virginia, government contracting company, referred to as Company A, which sought contracting business from the Military Sealift Command, the leading provider of transportation for the United States Navy. At his plea hearing, McPhail admitted that from approximately March 2005 to approximately January 2007, he personally contributed approximately $45,000 of his salary toward bribe payments made to two public officials working for the Military Sealift Command. McPhail further admitted that he did so in an effort to unfairly and illegally influence those public officials to provide favorable treatment to Company A in connection with United States government contracting work. Specifically, McPhail and other Company A employees, including Roderic J. Smith, Dwayne A. Hardman, and Adam C. White, provided monthly cash bribes to two Military Sealift Command public officials, Kenny E. Toy, the former Afloat Programs Manager for the Military Sealift Command’s N6 Command, Control, Communication, and Computer Systems Directorate, and Scott B. Miserendino, Sr., a former government contractor. This extensive bribery conspiracy spanned five years, involved multiple co-conspirators and two different companies, and resulted in the payment of more than $265,000 in cash bribes, among other things of value, to Toy and Miserendino. Earlier this year, four other individuals pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme. On Feb. 12, 2014, Toy pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from Company A employees. On Feb. 18, 2014, Hardman, the co-founder of Company A, pleaded guilty to providing bribes to Toy and Miserendino. On March 5, 2014, Smith, the former president of Company A, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe public officials. On April 4, 2014, White, a former vice president of Company A, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery.

On June 23, 2014, United States District Judge Henry Coke Morgan sentenced Smith to 48 months in prison and ordered him to forfeit $175,000. On July 9, 2014, Judge Smith sentenced Hardman to 96 months in prison and ordered him to forfeit $144,000. On July 11, 2014, Judge Smith sentenced White to 24 months in prison and ordered him to forfeit $57,000. On July 29, 2014, Judge Smith sentenced Toy to 96 months in prison and ordered him to forfeit $100,000.

On May 23, 2014, a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted Miserendino and Timothy S. Miller, a businessman whose company sought contracting business from the Military Sealift Command. The indictment charges Miserendino with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, one count of bribery, one count of conspiracy to commit obstruction of criminal investigations and to commit tampering with a witness, and one count of obstruction of criminal investigations. The indictment charges Miller with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and two counts of bribery. Trial is set for Sept. 30, 2014, before United States Chief District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith.

The charges contained in an indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case was investigated by the FBI, DCIS, and NCIS. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Haynie of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Emily Rae Woods of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section (PIN).

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.