Former four-star admiral charged with accepting bribes to award contracts

A retired four-star Naval admiral was arrested and charged Friday, with accepting bribes to help award United States government contracts in exchange for a future job at the company.

The Justice Department (DOJ) said it arrested Robert Burke, a former U.S. Navy vice chief of naval operations, and charged him with bribery, conspiracy to commit bribery, and "performing acts affecting a personal financial interest and concealing material facts from the United States." Two business associates were arrested with him, but they are only charged with bribery and conspiracy.

The two associates, Yongchul “Charlie” Kim and Meghan Messenger, were CEOs of a business referred to as "company A," which was allegedly awarded a government contract to train personnel under Burke’s command in Italy and Spain in December of 2021, according to the Justice Department.

The company had parted ways with the Navy in 2019, but a 2021 meeting between Burke and the other defendants revitalized the relationship, and Burke allegedly agreed to give the company a contract in exchange for a job at the company.

“At the meeting, the charged defendants allegedly agreed that Burke would use his position as a Navy Admiral to steer a sole-source contract to Company A in exchange for future employment at the company,” the Justice Department said. “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.’”

Burke also allegedly tried to promote the company for other contracts after the 2021 deal, but was unsuccessful. He also tried to hide the favoritism by claiming he had not had any interactions with the business until after it was awarded a contract. He went on to work for the company when he retired from the U.S. military in 2022, and made more than $500,000.

“To conceal the scheme, Burke allegedly made several false and misleading statements to the Navy, including by creating the false appearance that Burke played no role in issuing the contract and falsely implying that Company A’s employment discussions with Burke only began months after the contract was awarded,” the statement said.

If Burke is convicted of all crimes then he faces up to 30 years in prison, and Kim and Messenger each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted.

The Navy said it is fully cooperating with the DOJ's investigation into the incident.

“We take this matter very seriously and will continue to cooperate with the Department of Justice," Navy spokesperson Rear Adm. Ryan Perry told The Hill. "As this is an ongoing legal case we would refer you to the DOJ for any further information regarding this matter."