A former Navy admiral is facing 30 years in prison after he was arrested Friday in a scheme to steer lucrative U.S. government contracts to a company that later hired him once he retired from the military.
The Justice Department said Adm. Robert Burke, 62, participated in the bribery scheme from 2020 to 2022 while he was the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, his final position in the Navy. According to an indictment unsealed Friday, Adm. Burke ordered his staff to award a $355,000 contract to a business identified in court documents as “Company A” to train naval personnel under his command in Italy and Spain.
Also arrested Friday were Yongchul “Charlie” Kim and Meghan Messenger, the co-CEOs of “Company A.” Both face 20 years in prison if convicted of bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery. They are listed on social media as the co-chief executives of a New York-based training company called “Next Jump.”
In October 2022, Next Jump announced on its Facebook page that Admiral Burke, a former Vice Chief of Naval Operations, would join them as a senior partner. Court documents said his annual base salary would be $500,000.
“Bob brings a wealth of leadership experience from serving four decades in the U.S. Navy. Next Jump is proud to be Bob’s new home,” the company said.
Federal prosecutors said the company provided the Navy with a small-scale workforce training pilot program from August 2018 through July 2019. The Navy canceled the contract in late 2019 and told them not to contact Admiral Burke.
Despite the Navy’s instructions, Mr. Kim and Ms. Messenger met with Admiral Burke in Washington in July 2021 to reestablish their business relationship with the Navy. They agreed that he would use his position as a senior military official to steer a contract to their company in exchange for future employment, the Justice Department said Friday.
“They allegedly further agreed that Burke would use his official position to influence other Navy officers to award another contract to ‘Company A’ to train a large portion of the Navy with a value Kim allegedly estimated to be ‘triple-digit millions,’” the Justice Department said.
Federal prosecutors said Admiral Burke continued to promote the company in a failed attempt to convince other senior Navy officials to award them contracts.
“To conceal the scheme, Burke allegedly made several false and misleading statements to the Navy, including by creating the false appearance that (he) played no role in issuing the contract and falsely implying that ‘Company A’s’ employment discussions with (him) only began months after the contract was awarded,” the Justice Department said.
While all three are charged with bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery, Admiral Burke is also charged with performing acts affecting a personal financial interest and concealing material facts from the United States, officials said Friday.
According to his official U.S. Navy biography, Admiral Burke was a career submarine officer with operational assignments aboard both attack and ballistic missile submarines. He commanded the U.S.S. Hampton, a nuclear-powered attack submarine in Norfolk, Virginia, and Submarine Development Squadron 12 in Groton, Connecticut.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.