Three Individuals Plead Guilty to Bribery Scheme

A Virginia couple and Missouri man pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe a public official.

Susan May Keim, 54, and Russell John Keim Sr., 60, both of Hopewell, Virginia, pleaded guilty on Nov. 28 for their participation in a conspiracy relating to bribes of public officials. Rodney Gale Wilson, 67, of Imperial, Missouri, pleaded guilty today to the same charges.

According to court documents, Susan Keim and her husband Russell Keim accepted bribes from Wilson in return for Susan Keim’s award of purchase orders to Wilson’s company to sell parts and materials to U.S. Army Garrison Fort Lee (Fort Lee). Susan Keim worked for Skookum Educational Services (Skookum), a company that contracted with the federal government to provide maintenance and supply services at Fort Lee. Wilson was the owner of C&L Supply, a company formed for the sole purpose of selling supplies to Skookum for use at Fort Lee. From 2013 to 2018, in return for the award of the subcontracts worth over $900,000, Wilson provided checks and cash payments to Susan and Russell Keim disguised as compensation to Russell Keim for work performed for C&L Supply and payments for work done on a property owned by the Keims.

Susan Keim, Russell Keim, and Wilson each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to offer bribes to a public official and to accept bribes as a public official. The Keims are scheduled to be sentenced on April 13, 2023, and Wilson is scheduled to be sentenced on April 18, 2023. They each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia; Special Agent in Charge Stanley M. Meador of the FBI Richmond Field Office; Special Agent in Charge L. Scott Moreland of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division’s (CID) Major Procurement Fraud Field Office (MPFFO); and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Richmond Field Office, Army CID’s MPFFO, and DCIS Mid-Atlantic Field Office are investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Lauren Britsch Slater of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael C. Moore for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case. Former Trial Attorney Rebecca M. Schuman of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section also prosecuted the case.