Alan Hayward James, 51, of Texas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bribery, and conspiracy to rig bids, according to the department. James agreed to pay over $1.4 million in restitution to the U.S. Department of War as part of a plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court in Honolulu.
The conspiracy ran from at least April 2016 until April 2025, the department said. From May 2019 until October 2022, James directed co-conspirators who were supposed to be competitively bidding against one another to coordinate their bid amounts, according to court documents cited in the release.
Prosecutors said James and his co-conspirators used excess funds from inflated contracts to pay bribes to a federal public official in PACAF whom the conspirators nicknamed "Godfather." The scheme also financed 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, the department said.
"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."
U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson for the District of Hawaii said 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."
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 fines that could reach twice the amount of gain or loss from the crimes, according to the department.
The case is being handled by the Justice Department's Procurement Collusion Strike Force, with investigative assistance from the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General.