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A Fayetteville man pleaded guilty Wednesday, February 16, 2022 to receiving bribes in his role as a flooring technician while employed at Ft. Bragg, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of North Carolina.

According to court documents, Calvin Alfonza Jordan was a procurement agent assigned to the Operations and Maintenance Division, Directorate of Public Works (DPW), at Fort Bragg.  “To obtain services, a Ft. Bragg facilities user submits a request for a repair or service of a facility, such as a roof leak, damaged floor, or plumbing issue to the DPW,” stated the release. “The request creates a Demand Maintenance Order (DMO) that is forwarded to the appropriate commodity section. The DMO is assigned to a DPW technician that specializes in a certain trade, such as roofing, flooring, plumbing, or carpentry.”

The release went on to state the DPW technician assesses the issue to determine if they can complete the repair or service themselves within the time allotted or certifies that because of manpower, needed expertise or particular equipment needs, a contractor should undertake the work. If a contractor is to be used for the work, the technician submits a request for a contract to the work leader. If the work is estimated to cost under $2,500, the approved contract is forwarded to a DPW procurement agent who hires a contractor to complete the work. The technician who requested the contract would inspect and certify the work upon completion, then the procurement agent would pay the contractor using a government purchase card.

“From 2011 into 2019, Jordan used his position as a procurement agent to receive bribes of approximately $200 per DMO from various vendors contracting with DPW, Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, in return for increasing the amount of federal contracts given the vendor,” stated the release. “Jordan received approximately $1 million in illegal bribes.”

“As I have earlier announced, the ‘pay-to-play’ culture encouraged by government employees at Ft. Bragg stops now,” said Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina.  “The taking of bribes by employees of the United States will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Our country places great trust and responsibility in our public officials. Calvin Jordan repeatedly chose greed over integrity as he orchestrated a nearly decade long bribery scheme to line his own pockets,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard, Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Mid-Atlantic Field Office “Today’s [Feb. 16] guilty plea is a direct result of the hard work and dedication DCIS and our law enforcement partners put into stamping out corruption that threatens the U.S. Military and its installations.”

“The defendant made a bad choice to engage in a bribery scheme,” said Frank Robey, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit. “MPFU, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to use every available tool to combat and prevent people from exploiting the government contracting system for their personal benefit.”

“Participating in a long-term scheme to defraud the government to line your pockets is a losing proposition,” said Michael Curran, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Southeast Fraud Field Office. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to root out fraud, wherever we find it.”

Jordan pleaded guilty to receiving bribes, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 201. Jordan faces a maximum penalty of 180 months in prison when sentenced, which is tentatively set for May 2022.

Easley made the announcement after Chief United States Judge Richard E. Myers II accepted the plea. Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Division, Major Procurement Fraud Unit, are investigating the case.

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