Columbus veteran allegedly defrauded Navy out of over $9 million, DOJ says
A Columbus veteran has been charged after allegedly defrauding the U.S. Navy out of over $9 million in a bid-rigging and false-billing scheme involving an insider, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.
The news release says 49-year-old Cory Taylor Wright of Columbus “ is charged in a single-count information with wire fraud.”
Wright is expected to plead guilty in the coming weeks, according to the release. The felony charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Cory Taylor Wright’s background
Wright’s plea agreement says he was enlisted in the Navy from February 1997 until his retirement in May 2017, acccording to the DOJ.
He worked for the Navy’s Mobile Utilities Support Equipment (Muse) division at various points from 2005 to 2017 at a naval base in Port Hueneme, California, according to the release.
“Muse was responsible for providing management, technical, and logistics support for power systems, including large generators, for U.S. Department of Defense operations around the world, including active combat zones,” the release says.
“To accomplish its mission, Muse engaged with prime contractors to procure goods and services, typically by tasking orders to subcontractors,” the release says.
DOJ says he had a co-conspirator
Wright and a co-conspirator (identified as “Co-conspirator 1”) agreed to create a Georgia-based company named C&C Power Solutions LLC when Wright neared retirement in late 2016, according to the release.
“Wright and Co-Conspirator 1 created the company with the understanding that Co-Conspirator 1 would be a 50% partner in the business once he retired from the Navy,” the release says.
Co-Conspirator 1 was a Navy enlistee who retired in 2021 and held various positions at Muse, according to the DOJ, including supervisory positions in which he had considerable influence over naval contracts.
“Co-Conspirator 1 told Wright that he would ensure CCP received Navy contracts, including task orders from a prime contractor,” the release says.
Kickback payments
Wright paid Co-Conspirator 1 thousands of dollars in kickback payments in exchange for Co-Conspirator 1 directing the contracts to CCP, according to the release. This included payments to a sporting club operated by Co-Conspirator 1, the release says.
Wright and Co-Conpirator 1 conducted a bid-rigging scheme so CCP would receive subcontracts from prime contractors, according to the release.
False and fraudulent invoices
The DOJ says Wright made false and fraudulent invoices that represented CCP had completed work and delivered product to Muse when CCP hadn’t completed its contractual obligations.
“This caused the prime contractor to submit invoices containing Wright’s false information, causing the Navy to issue payments on the invoices,” the release says.
CCP received a prime contract in July 2019 after Wright and Co-Conspirator 1 worked together to create bogus documents to obtain the contract, according to the release.
The DOJ says the two men hid Co-Conspirator 1’s role and financial interest in CCP, including his direct involvement in the company’s successful bid proposal for the prime contract.
“In total, Wright and his co-schemers defrauded the Navy out of approximately $9,128,515,” the release says.
Length of scheme
The DOJ says the scheme lasted from Dec. 2016 to Aug. 2022.
The Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are investigating the case, according to the release.
The prosecutors are Assistant United States Attorneys Ian V. Yanniello of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section and Thomas F. Rybarczyk of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section, the release says.