Former Director of the Program Management Office in the Secretary of Defense Communications Office Pleads Guilty to Conflicts of Interest Law Prohibiting Acts Affecting Personal Financial Interest

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2018-06-25

The former Director of the Program Management Office in the Secretary of Defense Communications Office (SDC), on June 22, pleaded guilty to a criminal conflicts of interest charge for using her federal employment to participate in acts that financially benefited her and her husband’s company. Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division made the announcement.

Kimberly S. Brewer, 37, of Fredericksburg, Virginia, pleaded guilty before Magistrate Judge John F. Anderson of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to a one-count information charging her with violating a criminal conflicts of interest law that prohibits federal employees from using their federal employment to personally and financially benefit themselves or certain immediate family members, including spouses.

According to the plea documents, the SDC is the office within the U.S. Department of Defense responsible for, among other things, operating and maintaining the communications systems supporting the U.S. Secretary of Defense. During the relevant time period, Brewer served as SDC’s Director of the Program Management Office at the same time that her husband’s company, Insight Technology Group LLC (ITG), was a subcontractor for a company that had a $4.68 million contract with the SDC. Even though Brewer signed a disqualification statement in which she agreed to refrain from participating in any matters that would affect ITG, Brewer repeatedly personally and substantially participated in matters that affected the company’s financial interests, including advocating with her superiors on behalf of ITG and interfering in personnel matters affecting the company. These acts directly impacted financial matters affecting ITG’s financial interests and, indirectly, her own.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice

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