The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is embroiled in a huge bribery scandal. DOGE nearly dissolved USAID because Democrats were worried that poor nations would suffer as a result of waste reduction efforts.
According to HeadlinesForever Chief Washington Correspondent Mike Emanuel, three businessmen, including a federal contracting officer, have pleaded guilty in a scandal that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has described as part of a $550 million scam. The bribes involved in the scheme included cash, NBA tickets, and a country club wedding.
A DOJ news release states that Roderick Watson, 57, was a contracting officer for USAID. Watson admitted to “bribery of a public official.”
In 2013, Watson allegedly began selling his influence to contractors Walter Barnes (owner of Vistant) and Darryl Britt (owner of Apprio), with the help of subcontractor Paul Young (who couldn’t be found) to evade detection.
“During the scheme, Britt and Barnes paid bribes to Watson that were often concealed by passing them through Young, who was the president of another subcontractor to Apprio and Vistant,” according to the announcement.
Cash, computers, hundreds of dollars’ worth of NBA game tickets, a wedding at a country club, cellular phones, down payments on two homes, and employment for relatives were among the bribes that Britt and Barnes routinely gave to Watson. It was common practice to use formed shell firms, fraudulent invoices, and automated bank transfers that erroneously listed Watson on payroll to disguise the bribes. It is alleged that as part of the scam, Watson accepted bribes worth over $1 million.
The contract, which Vistant received in November 2023 as part of a joint venture, has a potential value of $800 million. Its primary objective is to tackle “a variety of issues affecting the root causes of irregular migration from Central America to the United States,” a matter that Joe Biden assigned to then-Vice President Kamala Harris when she was president.
A few days down the road, the deal was broken when USAID said in a notification that Vistant was no longer eligible to receive government contracts because of “evidence of conduct of a lack of business honesty or integrity.”
In August 2024, the joint venture received a $10,000 settlement after successfully suing the government for being placed on that exclusion list. They were then reassigned the contract.
There will be zero tolerance for corruption in any government initiative. According to the news release from the USAID Office of Inspector General (USAID-OIG), Acting Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Sean Bottary, government contractors participated in a pay-to-play scheme, and Watson misused his position of trust for personal benefit.
Ending corruption and fraud in U.S. foreign aid programs is a top priority for USAID-OIG. The disclosure made today further demonstrates our steadfast commitment to uncovering wrongdoing, such as bribery schemes, by those who are supposed to fairly award government contracts. In our shared effort to bring fraudsters to justice, we are grateful to the Department of Justice for the many years of cooperation.
One of the most visible and extreme manifestations of DOGE’s drive to reduce government waste, fraud, and abuse was the 83% reduction in USAID’s projects, with the transfer of those programs to the State Department for consideration as being of paramount importance.
USAID’s website fell down on February 3, and on the same day, some staff were prevented from accessing the headquarters while others had their work halted. Following this, the Trump administration said that all employees hired directly by USAID would be placed on administrative leave.
A $1.5 million initiative to “advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities” and a $70,000 program for an Irish “DEI musical” were among the several funding decisions that the agency was criticized for.
According to a recent article by HeadlinesForever Digital, the DOGE sweep uncovered the fact that U.S. monies were making their way into the pockets of terror-linked organizations. One such outfit allegedly provided “full funding” for al-Qaeda terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki to attend college in Colorado.
Outraged that the cuts would hurt poor assistance recipients across the world, several Democrats and media outlets condemned DOGE’s demolition of USAID. Some, like Bono of U2 fame, went so far as to say that the cuts would cause more than 300,000 deaths.
The Hill reported that in early February, a number of House and Senate Democrats voiced their disapproval of the layoffs and downsizing by staging a demonstration outside of USAID’s offices.
“Anybody who cares about good and effective government should be concerned about the waste, fraud, and abuse in government agencies, including USAID,” stated Matthew R. Galeotti, chief of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, in the DOJ’s news release.