Former US Navy admiral arrested for bribery

The New York Post reported that Robert Burke conspired with two executives of "Company A" - Yongchul "Charlie" Kim and Meghan Messenger - in the bribery scheme. The US Department of Justice said that while in office in 2020 - 2022, Mr. Burke agreed to help "Company A" win a contract with the US Navy in exchange for a well-paid job at the company after he retired.

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Burke is accused of asking his subordinates to award a $355,000 contract to Company A to train personnel under his command in Italy and Spain. The company had previously had a contract with the U.S. Navy to provide pilot training from August 2018 to July 2019, before ending at the end of 2019.

"Mr. Burke used his position to award another contract to Company A to train naval officers, with the contract value said to be up to hundreds of millions of dollars," the indictment said.

The indictment states that after retiring from the Navy in October 2022, he worked at the above company with a salary of $ 500,000 / year. The US Department of Justice also emphasized that Mr. Burke made many false and misleading statements to the US Navy to conceal his relationship with Company A, according to Business Insider .

Although the name of “Company A” was not mentioned, Yongchul “Charlie” Kim and Meghan Messenger were identified as co-conspirators in the case. Their names also appeared as CEOs on the website of a company called NextJump.

In addition to the bribery charges, Mr. Burke is also charged with engaging in conduct affecting personal financial interests and concealing material facts from the United States. If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison. Mr. Burke’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, said his client will plead not guilty and will defend his innocence.