(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The founder of a government contracting firm has pled guilty to bribing a USAID officer to receive some $500 million in contracts. The USAID officer he bribed pled guilty, too.
The government contractor, Walter Barnes, is the founder of PM Consulting Group, which now goes by the name Vistant. Earlier this year, as the Trump administration started its work gutting USAID, online sleuths found that Vistant received numerous contracts to work in Ukraine under the Biden administration—including to be a “technical advisor” for “human rights.”
USAID contract (2023)
Recipient: Pm Consulting Group LLCAmount: $651,706
Purpose: Provide services to USAID Ukraine under the BPA MENA contract, specifically to include pro communication specialist
Country: Ukrainehttps://t.co/Wrr45ZEYkr
— RandoLand.us (@RandoLand_us) February 27, 2025
It’s unclear whether any of the Ukraine contracts were linked to the bribery scheme.
Court records state that Barnes’s bribery scheme ran from 2013 to 2023. At least two other uncharged co-conspirators and two other companies were also involved, according to court records.
According to the DOJ, Barnes paid “various bribes” to receive the USAID contracts, including cash, iPhones, laptops, tickets to an NBA game, as well as benefits such as jobs for relatives.
For instance, in June 2015, Barnes hired USAID contractor Roderick Watson’s relative as a bribe to receive a nearly $46 million contract.
Part of the bribery scheme allegedly included free Washington Wizards tickets and a new iPhone for ex-USAID officer Roderick Watson, pictured below.
The people bribing Watson gave him the phone because he "like[d] shine objects!!!," according to court records. https://t.co/IfjYiPbPFC pic.twitter.com/pQSrytVF0O— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) May 16, 2025
In another instance in 2018, Barnes bribed Watson with tickets to a Washington Wizards basketball game in exchange for sensitive procurement information.
According to the Baltimore Sun, the scheme was uncovered by USAID’s Office of Inspector General during the Biden administration.
Watson reportedly faces up to 15 years in prison for taking the bribes, while Barnes faces up to 5 years for conspiracy to bribe a public official and securities fraud.
The news about the guilty pleas comes days after the DOJ filed a criminal charge Friday against Yusuf Akoll, a former USAID senior procurement contract specialist.
According to the DOJ, Akoll formed a shell company in November 2020 to fraudulently obtained $16,666 in loans through the Paycheck Protection Program—the COVID-era program designed to help small businesses stay afloat.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
