Man Pleads Guilty to DOD Bribery and Kickback Conspiracy

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Alabama man pleaded guilty today to his role in a bribery and kickback scheme involving a contract for the Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General (DOD OIG).

According to court documents, Ronald A. Capallia, Jr., 37, accepted over $700,000 in kickbacks from William S. Wilson, of Florida, in exchange for unlawfully steering work to Wilson’s companies in connection with prime government contracts, and further assisted Wilson in providing bribes to former DOD OIG employee Matthew Kekoa LumHo, 42, of Fairfax Station. At the time of the kickbacks, Capallia worked for a telecommunications company that had been awarded a prime contract to provide an array of voice and data services to the DOD OIG and other federal agencies.  In return for the kickbacks, Capallia repeatedly caused his employer to order services from Wilson’s companies, even though he knew that Wilson’s companies had no relevant expertise in providing the services to be performed, and despite knowing that there was no legitimate business reason to involve Wilson’s companies. Capallia also submitted millions of dollars in false service orders to the DOD OIG for services that he, Wilson, and LumHo knew would not be provided to the government. Capallia arranged to submit these false service orders so that Wilson could substantially inflate the prices his company was charging indirectly to the government, and to conceal the fact that several of the service orders were pretexts through which to pay bribes to LumHo. Wilson routed the kickbacks to Capallia in the form of over $500,000 in supposed salary payments to Capallia’s relative for a job that did not exist, through the purchase of two brand new vehicles each worth over $40,000, through over $60,000 in Caribbean cruises, airfare, and hotel accommodations, and through the purchase of electronics equipment.

Capallia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to false claims. He faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison when sentenced on September 14. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Robert Craig, Special Agent in Charge for Defense Criminal Investigative Service Mid-Atlantic Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Burke and Samantha Bateman are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:17-cr-223.