6 Men Charged In Kickbacks Scheme Involving Subsidiary Of Boeing Co.
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Six Southland men face federal charges stemming from an alleged scheme to pay kickbacks to a procurement official at a subsidiary of the Boeing Co. that supplies satellites and satellite parts to government entities, including NASA.
Federal prosecutors announced the charges after a judge in Los Angeles unsealed documents related to four of the defendants, who previously pleaded guilty in proceedings that were closed to the public.
At the center of the alleged scheme is an executive at a San Gabriel Valley metal company that was a subcontractor to Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems, which supplies satellites and satellite parts to NASA, the Department of Defense, the National Reconnaissance Office and the United States Air Force, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Alfred Henderson, 60, of Pico Rivera -- vice president of A&A Fabrication and Polishing Inc., which manufactures tooling parts in Whittier and Montebello and was also charged – was arrested Monday and arraigned on a 15-count grand jury indictment that was unsealed after his arrest. Henderson pleaded not guilty and was released on a $25,000 bond pending trial on May 26.
The indictment alleges that Henderson and A&A paid kickbacks to Mark Allen, 60, of Fresno, a procurement officer at BSIS in El Segundo through outside sales representative Raymond Joseph, 66, of Los Angeles, related to purchase orders to A&A for tooling parts used to manufacture satellites that were sold to the federal government, according to prosecutors.
According to the indictment, Allen provided Henderson with confidential information that gave A&A an improper advantage in bidding and ensured that A&A would receive purchase orders from BSIS. Between 2005 and February 2012, A&A was awarded about $4.5 million in BSIS purchase orders.
For the contracts, Henderson and A&A paid nearly $650,000 to Joseph and about $100,000 to Allen, the U.S. Attorney's Office alleges.
Federal prosecutors say that, after Boeing decided to stop doing business with A&A due to work quality and performance issues, Henderson devised a scheme to do business through a "front" company, Nace Sheet Metal Co., which was owned and operated by Cesar Soto, 47, of Chino. The indictment against Henderson alleges that Soto and an A&A employee, Randy Mitchell, 62, of Whittier, misrepresented that A&A's facility was actually operated by Nace and that Henderson unlawfully used Soto's name on price quotes to Boeing.
The indictment further alleges that Henderson and A&A issued false tax forms to Joseph, which he used to understate his taxable income to the Internal Revenue Service.
In a court order filed late Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II unsealed criminal cases against Allen, Joseph, Soto and Mitchell. All four previously pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
The U.S. Attorney's Office on Monday filed a criminal information against a sixth defendant -- Noberto Martinez, 53, of Alhambra, who owns and controls Zenitram Engineering and Manufacturing Inc., who was accused of conspiring to pay kickbacks to Allen and issuing false tax forms to Joseph.
Martinez has signed a plea agreement and is scheduled to make his first court appearance on April 13, federal prosecutors said.
Representatives of A&A are also expected to appear on behalf of the company in court on April 13.
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