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The United States International Development Agency (USAID) is an institution that was essentially dismantled by Doge amid a complaint from Democrats that it would cut waste, and is at the heart of a massive bribery scandal.
A federal contract official and three businessmen pleaded guilty to schemes such as cash, NBA tickets and country club weddings in the scandal that the Department of Justice (DOJ) said was part of a $550 million fraud.
According to a press release from DOJ, 57-year-old Roderick Watson works as a USAID Contracts Officer and pleaded guilty to “civil servant bribery.”
According to the DOJ, Watson sold his influence in 2013, with Vistant owner Walter Barnes and Apprio owner Darryl Britt hiding the truck by funneling in return through subcontractor Paul Young.
Riche encourages reviews of “top to bottom” USAID spending after exposing waste, fraud
Protesters and lawmakers are opposed to President Donald Trump and his allies, Elon Musk, to disrupt the federal government, including the demolition of the US International Development Agency in Washington on February 5, 2025.
“During the scheme, Britt and Burns paid Watson for a bribe, which was often hidden by handing them Young.
“Britt and Burns also regularly poured bribes into Watson, including cash, laptops, NBA game suite tickets, country club weddings, two mortgage nadpayments, mobile phones and relative jobs. As part of the scheme, they received bribes worth more than $1 million.”
Thousands of USAIDs to be effective by September with the final leg of “drawdown”
A former USAID employee will leave its headquarters in Washington on February 27, 2025.
Vistant was awarded in November 2023 as part of a joint venture. This is a maximum of $800 million contract, where one of those contracts focuses on “various issues affecting the root causes of irregular migration from Central America to the US.”
A few days later, the contract was cancelled after USAID published a notice that Vistant had been excluded from the government contract due to “evidence of evidence of the implementation of business integrity or lack of integrity.”
The joint venture then sued the government for being on its exclusion list, rehears the contract and was given a $10,000 payment in August 2024.
“Corruption in government programs is unacceptable. Watson abused his position of trust in personal interests, and federal contractors were engaged in payment planning schemes.
“USAID-OIG is firmly committed to eradicating fraud and corruption within the US foreign aid program. Today’s announcement highlights an unwavering focus on exposing criminal conduct, including a bribery scheme that entrusts the faithful award of government contracts.
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Protesters will be attending a meeting with members of Congress, Pete Marrocco, designated by the USAID Deputy Administrator, on March 5, 2025, to discuss foreign aid support at Capitol Hill, Washington.
USAID is one of the public faces of Doge’s efforts to reduce waste, fraud and abuse in the government, and the most dramatic example of the efforts that reduced the institution’s programs by 83%, but programs deemed important have moved to the State Department.
The USAID website has become dark and employees were banned from entering headquarters on February 3, while others have put their jobs on hold. The Trump administration then announced that all USAID direct employment officials would take administrative leave.
The agency fired for many funding options, including allocating $1.5 million to programs seeking “diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbian workplaces and business communities,” and allocated a $70,000 program for Ireland’s “DEI Musical.”
During Doge’s Sweep, it was revealed that the US dollar was in the hands of terrorist groups, including funds that provide “full funds” for al-Qaeda terrorist Anwar Al-Awlaki to attend a Colorado university.
As Doge dismantled USAID, many Democrats and the media claimed it would blow up the cuts and harm some aid, including aid recipients around the world and U2 frontman Bono.
Several House and Senate Democrats protested outside USAID headquarters in early February, expressing their anger over the layoffs and cuts, Hill reported.
“Whether anyone cares about a good and effective government about waste, fraud and abuse from government agencies, including USAID, Matthew R. Galeotti, criminal director at the Department of Justice, said in a DOJ press release.
Diana Stancy and Rachel Wolf of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
Andrew Mark Miller is a Fox News reporter. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email him with tips to Andrewmark.miller@fox.com.
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