Retired Navy Admiral Robert Burke.
Image courtesy of the U.S. Navy
A retired four-star U.S. Navy admiral who was the military’s second-highest-ranking officer was arrested on Friday for bribing two technology company executives, the U.S. Justice Department announced.
Between 2020 and 2022, Robert Burke, a 62-year-old resident of Coconut Creek, Florida, allegedly used his senior position in the Navy to help New York co-CEO Yongchul “Charlie” Kim and Meghan Messenger, according to the U.S. Department of Justice According to reports, workplace-based technology platform Next Jump has won a military contract.
Burke allegedly told his staff in 2021 to award King and Messinger a military contract worth $355,000. In exchange, King and Messings allegedly promised to employ Burke at their companies in the future.
The U.S. Department of Justice said that in 2022, Burke began working as a senior partner at Next Jump with a starting salary of $500,000 and 100,000 stock options.
“Admiral Burke contests these charges,” Burke’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, told CNBC on Saturday. “We will ask for a trial and he is expected to be found not guilty. “
Parlatore confirmed that Next Jump was awarded a military contract worth $355,000 and that Burke later continued to work for Next Jump with an annual salary of $500,000. But whether one side accuses the other of bribery, he said: “Absolutely not.”
Burke faces up to 30 years in prison, while King and Messinger each face 20 years in prison.
According to Parlatore, Burke only worked at Next Jump for a few months and left the organization in part due to a “personality conflict.”
Lawyers for Messenger and Kim did not immediately respond to requests for comment made outside business hours.
Burke’s arraignment will be coordinated on Monday, and he will appear in a Washington, D.C., court to plead not guilty in the coming weeks, Parlattore said.
The Justice Department charges against Burke come weeks after a federal judge threw out felony convictions against five officers involved in what a senior administration official previously called “one of the most brazen bribery schemes in U.S. Navy history.” one”.
The bribery scheme centered on former defense contractor Leonard Francis, also known as “Fat Leonard,” who allegedly gave officers luxury gifts such as Cuban cigars and Kobe beef in exchange for classified military information.
Five police officers admitted to accepting bribes from Francis, but their felony convictions were thrown out on May 21 due to prosecutorial errors by the Justice Department.
The firings tarnish the Justice Department’s long-running efforts to hold participants in Francis’ program accountable.
Although the Fat Leonard program was not directly related to Burke’s case, Parlatore was skeptical about the timing of the Justice Department’s bribery charges against Burke.
“The timing does seem a little strange after Fat Leonard’s conviction was thrown out due to Justice Department misconduct,” he said. “I was actually shocked when someone from the Department of Justice said, ‘Hey, hold on to my beer.'”
