Retired four-star Navy admiral Robert Burke.
A retired four-star Navy admiral who lives in Coconut Creek was among three people arrested last Friday on charges related to their alleged roles in a bribery scheme involving a U.S. government contract.
From 2020 to 2022, Robert Burke, 62, oversaw Naval operations in Europe, Russia, and most of Africa, commanding thousands of civilian and military personnel. Burke was arrested along with New York residents Yongchul “Charlie” Kim and Meghan Messenger, co-CEOs of a company that provided a workforce training pilot program to a small component of the Navy from August 2018 through July 2019, according to a federal indictment unsealed May 31.
In 2019, the Navy terminated a contract with the company — the name of which was not made public by the U.S. Department of Justice — and directed the company not to contact Burke.
Despite the Navy’s instructions, Kim and Messenger allegedly met with Burke in Washington, D.C., in July 2021 in an effort to reestablish their company’s business relationship with the Navy, the indictment states.
During their meeting, Kim and Messenger allegedly agreed that Burke would use his position as a Navy Admiral to steer a sole-source contract to their company in exchange for future employment at the company, according to federal prosecutors.
They also allegedly agreed that Burke would use his position to influence other Navy officers to award another contract to the company to train a large portion of the Navy — a contract with a value Kim allegedly estimated to be “triple digit millions,” the DOJ said.
To carry out the conspiracy, Burke allegedly ordered his staff to award a $355,000 contract to the company in December 2021 to train personnel under his command in Italy and Spain, prosecutors said.
The company performed the training in January 2022, after which Burke allegedly promoted the company in a failed effort to convince a senior Navy Admiral to award them another contract, according to the indictment.
To conceal the scheme, Burke allegedly made several false and misleading statements to the Navy, including giving the false appearance that he had played no role in issuing the contract and falsely implying that his employment discussions with the company only began months after the contract was awarded, prosecutors said.
In October 2022, Burke began working at the company at a yearly starting salary of $500,000 plus a grant of 100,000 stock options, according to the DOJ.
Burke, Kim, and Messenger are each charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and bribery. Burke is also charged with performing acts affecting a personal financial interest and concealing material facts from the United States.
If convicted, Burke faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, and Kim and Messenger each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
The case is being investigated by the federal Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service’s Economic Crimes Field Office, and the FBI.
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