Retired Adm. Robert Burke, then the commander of Joint Force Command Naples, speaks to NATO military members in June 2021 in Romania. (NATO )
WASHINGTON — A former vice chief of naval operations faces up to 30 years in prison after being arrested Friday along with two business executives on criminal charges involving a U.S. government contract bribery scheme, the Justice Department announced.
Retired Adm. Robert Burke, 62, of Coconut Creek, Fla., is accused of having been involved in the scheme from 2020 to 2022, according to an indictment unsealed Friday. Burke was the 40th vice chief of naval operations from June 2019 until June 2020 and concurrently served as commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa from 2020 until his retirement in 2022, according to his service biography.
Business executives Yongchul “Charlie” Kim and Meghan Messenger of New York were also arrested. They are the co-CEOs of a company referred to as “Company A” in the indictment. A website for a technology and services company called Next Jump identifies a Charlie Kim and a Meghan Messenger as co-CEOs.
All three were charged with bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery. Burke is also charged with performing acts affecting a personal financial interest and concealing material facts from the United States, the Justice Department said.
Burke could face up to 30 years in prison, while Kim and Messenger each face up to 20 years.
Company A provided a workforce training pilot program to a “small component of the Navy” from August 2018 to July 2019, according to the Justice Department. The Navy terminated the contract with the company in late July and directed Company A not to contact Burke.
“At the meeting, the charged defendants allegedly agreed that Burke would use his position as a Navy admiral to steer a sole-source contract to Company A in exchange for future employment at the company,” the Justice Department said. “They allegedly further agreed that Burke would use his official position to influence other Navy officers to award another contract to Company A to train a large portion of the Navy with a value Kim allegedly estimated to be ‘triple-digit millions’.’’
Burke in December 2021 ordered his staff to award a contract to Company A to train personnel under his command in Italy and Spain. Company A carried out the training in January 2022, according to the Justice Department.
Burke tried to convince a senior Navy admiral -- not identified by federal authorities -- to award another contract to the company.
“To conceal the scheme, Burke allegedly made several false and misleading statements to the Navy, including by creating the false appearance that Burke played no role in issuing the contract and falsely implying that Company A’s employment discussions with Burke only began months after the contract was awarded,” the Justice Department said.
After retiring, Burke began working at Company A in October 2022 at a yearly starting salary of $500,000 and a grant of 100,000 stock options.
“The Department of the Navy has fully cooperated with this investigation from the onset. We take this matter very seriously and will continue to cooperate with the Department of Justice,” Rear Adm. Ryan Perry, Navy chief of information, said in a statement.
