Bridgette Crowell, a former official with the District of Columbia Office of Contracts and Procurement (OCP) and a former official with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (WMATA), pleaded guilty Thursday to participating in a scheme to manipulate government contracts for personal gain. benefit plan.
The 39-year-old Laurel, Maryland, resident pleaded guilty to one count charging her with conspiracy to commit wire and honest services fraud. Sentencing is scheduled for September 6, 2024, according to the Department of Justice.
Joining Crowell in the corrupt activities was Obinna Ogbu, 52, of Silver Spring, Maryland, who also pleaded guilty to his role in the fraud at WMATA and OCP . Meanwhile, another co-conspirator, Ifediora Oli, has pleaded not guilty and his case is still before the courts.
According to court documents, Crowell began working at OCP as a contracts specialist in 2019 after working as a contracts administrator at WMATA. It was during WMATA that she first met her co-conspirators Ogbu and Ollie.
During the OCP, Crowell abused his position by warning co-conspirators of upcoming solicitations; providing them with non-public information about solicitations, including contract pricing; and helping their companies obtain government contracts.
According to the press release:
Crowell began working in the district’s Office of Contracts and Procurement (OCP) in 2019 as a contracts specialist. Prior to that, she worked at WMATA as a Contracts Administrator. Crowell first met her co-conspirator while working at WMATA.
Ogbu is an employee of WMATA. Ollie is an employee of the United States Department of Agriculture, but otherwise claims to be the head of Highbury Global Group Inc. (Highbury).
By 2021, Crowell learned that her co-conspirators had orchestrated a bribery scheme in which Ogbu received valuable payments for abusing his position at WMATA and diverting WMATA-related business opportunities to Oley and Highbury. thing.
While at OCP, Crowell agreed to hand over government contracts to Nupath Corporation (Nupath), another company founded by Highbury and Ogbu, in exchange for something of value.
Crowell abused her official position at OCP, including by: alerting her co-conspirators of upcoming solicitations; providing them with non-public information about the solicitations, including information on contract pricing; helping Highbury and Nupath obtain government contract; and took various steps to conceal her personal relationship with Highbury and Noopas.
Crowell’s misconduct led to Highbury signing a $630,000 contract with the school district to provide COVID-19 testing supplies to the district’s Department of Forensic Sciences (DFS); Nupath was awarded a $27,000 contract to provide the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to provide certain equipment; Nupath was awarded a contract worth nearly $850,000 to provide assistance to MPD in conducting pre-employment suitability background checks for officer candidates.
As a result of her official actions and participation in the fraudulent scheme, Crowell received items of value from her co-conspirators, including up to $10,000 per month in cash, a new vehicle, and assistance with closing costs on a new home.
As part of his plea, Ogbu acknowledged that his misconduct began in 2018 and culminated in Highbury and Nupath receiving approximately $2 million in funds from WMATA and District contracts.
