Guilty plea expected from ex-D.C. technology officer
By: Scott McCabe
Examiner Staff Writer
November 6, 2009
The District of Columbia's former top computer security official accused of masterminding a bribery and kickback scheme is expected to plead guilty, according to court filings.
Yusuf Acar, 40, was arrested in March and charged with conspiring to commit bribery and launder money in a sophisticated scheme that cost the D.C. government at least $500,000. He and his defense lawyers have been negotiating a deal since September.
Prosecutors on Wednesday filed a "criminal information," which typically indicates that a plea deal has been worked out because the document can't be filed without the consent of the defendant.
According to the court filing, Acar would pay back more than $200,000 in stolen money, including $69,000 in cash that was seized at his Northwest Washington home at the time of his arrest.
Acar, the scheme's alleged mastermind, is being held at the D.C. Jail. A hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Prosecutors have accused Acar of using his position as the District's acting chief technology security officer to steer contracts to companies for bribes. Prosecutors said Acar also had a stake in a company that received D.C. contracts and took kickbacks.
Acar, 40, and former D.C. employee Sushil Bansal are accused of faking invoices and timesheets from contractors in order to skim money from the city.
Investigator said Acar sought bribes from Bansal, president and chief executive of Advanced Integrated Technologies Corporation, a consulting firm that did millions of dollars in business with the D.C. government.
In all, five former D.C. employees or contractors who have been charged or pleaded guilty to the scheme.
At least 23 contract and full-time employees in the city's technology office have been fired.
The scandal in the technology office has touched Vivek Kundra, who left his post as D.C.'s chief technology officer to become the nation's first chief information technology officer a week before the arrests. The White House suspended him while investigators made sure he was not directly involved in the scam. Kundra then resumed his duties.
