November 4, 2015

Project Manager Overseeing Construction Projects at Morris County, New Jersey U.S. Army Installation Admits Accepting Kickbacks

NEWARK, NJ—A regional manager for a prime contractor working at Picatinny Arsenal today admitted taking more than $20,000 in kickbacks in return for favorable treatment on construction projects at the installation, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Shawn A. Fuller, 45, of East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of accepting unlawful kickbacks.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Fuller, a project manager for a prime contractor working at Picatinny Arsenal, admitted taking kickbacks from subcontractors in return for favorable treatment on related construction projects. On June 27, 2010, Fuller solicited and accepted a Yamaha Wave Runner, valued at $4,250, from a subcontractor who owned a Warren County, New Jersey, construction company. Fuller also admitted that, between 2009 and June 2013, he accepted approximately $20,000 in cash payments from other subcontractors involved in Picatinny Arsenal construction projects.

The charge to which Fuller pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 16, 2016.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents with the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel; the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Craig Rupert; and the U.S. Army Major Procurement Fraud Unit, Criminal Investigation Command, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Larry Scott Moreland, with the investigation leading to today’s plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara R. Llanes and Senior Litigation Counsel Leslie Faye Schwartz of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.