Alan Hayward James, 51, of Texas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bribery, and conspiracy to rig bids in connection with the scheme that ran from at least April 2016 until April 2025. James agreed to pay over $1.4 million in restitution to the U.S. Department of War as part of his plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court in Honolulu.
According to court documents, James and his coconspirators fraudulently inflated the cost of IT contracts serving U.S. Air Force installations across the Pacific and used the excess funds to enrich themselves and pay bribes to a federal public official in PACAF whom the conspirators nicknamed "Godfather." The scheme also funded an all-expenses-paid multi-day stay at a luxury resort on the North Shore of Oahu in 2023 for the conspirators and their family members.
From May 2019 until October 2022, James directed co-conspirators who were supposed to be competitively bidding against one another to circumvent the competitive bidding process by coordinating their bid amounts.
James faces maximum penalties of 20 years in prison for wire fraud conspiracy, 15 years for bribery, and 10 years for the Sherman Act bid rigging conspiracy, along with substantial fines that could reach twice the amount of gain or loss from the crimes.
"Over thirty-seven million dollars — that's how much the U.S. Air Force overpaid because of the scheme that the defendant admitted to, under oath and in open court," said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Daniel Glad of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division. "Criminals who rig bids and commit fraud on government contracts steal from taxpayers and threaten the public's confidence in government institutions."
"Through this bid-rigging scheme, the defendant not only stole from American taxpayers and harmed companies seeking to compete honestly for government contracts, he also ultimately harmed essential military services designed to keep our nation safe by diverting resources away from other services," said U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson for the District of Hawaii.
The prosecution is being handled by the Justice Department's Procurement Collusion Strike Force, a joint law enforcement effort launched to combat antitrust crimes and fraudulent schemes targeting government procurement at all levels. The case was investigated with assistance from the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and General Services Administration Office of Inspector General.