Defendant Took Bribes to Steer Contracts Meant to Aid Reconstruction in Afghanistan 

April 13, 2023 - A Georgia man was sentenced yesterday to three years and 10 months in prison for his roles in two bribery conspiracies – one related to a U.S. military contracts fraud scheme and one related to a Department of State visa fraud scheme.

According to court documents, Orlando Clark, 57, of Smyrna, was a manager of projects who deployed to Afghanistan to evaluate bids for U.S.-funded reconstruction contracts awarded by the U.S. military in 2011 and 2012. At that time, Clark and co-conspirator Todd Coleman, an analyst at a different U.S. company who also deployed to Afghanistan, received approximately $400,000 in bribes from an Afghan company. The bribes were paid in return for Clark and Coleman assisting the company in obtaining millions of dollars through at least 10 contracts that involved the construction of an Afghan police station and a security checkpoint for U.S. forces.

To conceal their conduct, Clark and Coleman registered fictitious companies in Georgia and opened bank accounts to which bribes were sent via wire transfers from Afghanistan. Clark and Coleman also created false invoices to make it appear as though they were involved in a car-exporting business in the United Arab Emirates. In reality, Clark and Coleman used the bribe payments to purchase personal items, such as BMW cars. During the scheme, Coleman and Clark also travelled to the United Arab Emirates to receive cash bribes, which they smuggled into the United States without declaring the currency.

In addition, between 2015 and 2020, Clark also received bribes to sign false letters of recommendation for visas authorized for Afghan nationals who worked as translators with U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Clark signed over 10 letters in which he falsely claimed to have supervised the applicants and in which he stated, without any factual basis, that he had no reason to be believe that they posed a threat to U.S. national security. 

On Feb. 9, Coleman was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison for his role in the U.S. military contracts bribery scheme.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia, Inspector General John F. Sopko of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), Inspector General Robert P. Storch of the Department of Defense, Special Agent in Charge Stanley A. Newell of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Transnational Operations Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Greg Gross of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Economic Crimes Field Office made the announcement.

The SIGAR, DCIS, and NCIS investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Matt Kahn of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell Phillips for the Northern District of Georgia prosecuted the case.