Government Contracting Company And CEO Plead Guilty To Paying Bribes To Former U.S. Postal Official

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – AH Computer Consulting, Inc. (AH, Inc.), an international
information technology consulting firm based in Rockville, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to having paid thousands of dollars in bribes to Gene Quarles, a former official with the United States Postal Service, in exchange for Quarles’ official assistance in obtaining and facilitating government contracts for that company.  The company’s CEO-Managing Director, Heba Elaraby, 42, of Gaithersburg, Md., also admitted to having paid bribes and entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the United States earlier today.  The company’s CEO-Technical Director, Adel Elaraby, 45, of Gaithersburg, Md., pleaded guilty to the same offense on April 19, 2013.  Quarles previously pled guilty to bribery of a public official on February 14, 2013, and is scheduled for sentencing on May 17, 2013. 

            Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and 
Special Agent in Charge Tom Frost of the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, made the announcement after the pleas were entered in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

          AH, Inc., Heba Elaraby, and Adel Elaraby were all charged, through a criminal
information, with bribery of a public official.  AH, Inc. faces a maximum penalty of a $250,000 fine and 5 years of probation when it is sentenced on July 26, 2013.  Adel Elaraby faces a maximum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment and 3 years of supervised released when he is sentenced on the same date. 

            In a statement of facts filed with their plea agreements, both AH, Inc. and Adel Elaraby admitted that, in April 2010, the Elarabys approached Quarles and offered to pay him bribes in exchange for various impermissible contracting preferences and advantages.  Quarles accepted this offer, and from in or about April 2010 through in or about June 2012, AHCC employees paid Quarles numerous cash payments—totaling several thousands of dollars—in exchange for Quarles’ providing advantages to AHCC during the USPS contracting process.  For example, Quarles provided AHCC with confidential USPS contracting information, so that AHCC could tailor its bids to what other potential contractors were bidding.  In addition, Quarles forwarded various private call-in numbers for conference calls between USPS officials, where official business was discussed, so that AHCC employees could anonymously listen in and get a leg-up on their competition.  Quarles also allowed AHCC employees to complete surveys, evaluations, and other review materials in Quarles’ own name so that AHCC could obtain additional government contracts. 

            This case was investigated by the United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General.  Assistant United States Attorney Chad Golder is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.