New York Eastern District prosecutors yesterday (21st) announced a supplemental indictment accusing four men of receiving substantial illegal kickbacks through manipulating technical service contracts for homeless shelters to profit themselves, with a total corruption amount exceeding one million US dollars, seriously eroding public resources.
According to the prosecution, non-profit organization employees Gary DSilva and Jonathan Velazquez, in collusion with suppliers Pradeep Nigam and Luis A. Camarena, established two secret kickback schemes using their positions to steer information technology service contracts worth millions of dollars to specific companies in exchange for high illegal rewards.
This case was jointly announced by New York Eastern District federal prosecutor Joseph Nocella, Department of Investigation (DOI) Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) New York office. The supplemental indictment was made public in Brooklyn Federal Court on Wednesday, with Nigam surrendering to authorities on the same day, and the other three defendants have also been arrested and will appear in court one after another.
Federal prosecutors, the DOI commissioner, and FBI representatives stated that the defendants set up a “black box deal”, profiting within city-funded shelters, completely disregarding the welfare of the service recipients, severely damaging public trust.
According to the indictment, DSilva and Velazquez worked in the information department of the non-profit organization, responsible for soliciting suppliers for various information technology projects for multiple homeless shelters, including security monitoring, network, and communication systems. They conspired with suppliers in two separate schemes to manipulate the contract processes:
In the first scheme, DSilva and Velazquez received kickbacks of around $500,000 from Camarena’s company, steering an installation contract for monitoring equipment worth around $1.6 million to their company.
In the second scheme, the two collaborated with Nigam, arranging for his company to undertake a $2 million telephone and internet service contract, and agreed to split the contract profits with Nigam, ultimately receiving over $700,000 from it.
The indictment also pointed out that the two non-profit employees set up companies in the names of their family members to receive kickbacks and used personal email accounts to communicate with suppliers, intending to cover up the illicit transactions.
DOI Commissioner Strauber condemned these actions, stating, “These funds should have been used to provide technical services to homeless shelters operated by the non-profit organization, but the defendants diverted them for personal gain.”
FBI Assistant Director Raia expressed that the defendants monopolized resources unfairly, disrupted competition, and jeopardized the integrity of vital social services in the city, emphasizing that the FBI will continue to vigorously investigate similar corrupt practices.
The four defendants currently face multiple serious charges including telecommunications fraud, bribery, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. According to the law, they are still considered innocent until proven guilty in court.