For more information contact:
Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney Dixie A. Morrow
(850) 444-4000
THREE DEFENDANTS CONVICTED OF GOVERNMENT CONTRACT FRAUD
AND MONEY LAUNDERING CONSPIRACIES
Pensacola, Florida - United States Attorney Gregory R. Miller, Northern District of Florida, announced today that James Patrick Glenn, 57, of Pensacola, Florida, James Brian Glenn, 31, of Clearwater, Florida, and Gerald Wayne McCoy, 60, of San Diego, California, were found guilty of conspiracies to defraud the United States and to launder money. James Patrick Glenn was also convicted of having a conflict of interest while an employee of the United States Department of Defense.
The guilty verdicts followed nine days of trial, during which jurors heard evidence that the defendants used “Matrix Engineering and Contracting, Inc.,” a California-based company for which Gerald McCoy was Chief Operating Officer, to obtain lucrative United States Navy contracts and funnel money from the contracts to themselves. Matrix was an “8(a)” company - a Small Business Administration designation which allowed small, disadvantaged businesses to compete in the American economy and gain access to the federal procurement market. One key benefit of “8(a)” status was the chance for the company to receive “sole-source” contracts.
While still employed as a Program Manager for the U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (“SPAWAR”) in Pensacola, Florida, James Patrick Glenn directed the award of 13 sole-source task orders to Matrix. Trial evidence showed that “Finbar Technologies, Inc.,” a Florida-based corporation for which James Patrick Glenn and Gerald Wayne McCoy were directors and Glenn’s son, James Brian Glenn, was listed as “president,” invoiced Matrix for SPAWAR work billed by Matrix, without knowledge or approval of SPAWAR. James Patrick Glenn approved the payment of the invoices. After Matrix was paid, McCoy funneled money to James Brian Glenn at Finbar, who then paid money to James Patrick Glenn. Before retiring in July 2004, James Patrick Glenn caused SPAWAR to award an umbrella “Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity” (“IDIQ”) contract to Matrix, potentially worth millions of dollars. Under this contract, Matrix could have received additional money from SPAWAR for many years through specific task orders.
In addition, James Patrick Glenn caused SPAWAR to partner with the Southwest Alabama Integrated Criminal Justice System (“SAICS”), which had been given a $10 million grant by the US Congress to improve law enforcement communications technology. Glenn, Glenn and McCoy caused Finbar to invoice Matrix for work purportedly done for SAICS. However, SAICS never received the services Finbar claimed to have performed. SAICS paid nearly $500 thousand for work they never received.
This case was investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS). United States Attorney Miller expressed appreciation to Christopher Amato, Special Agent in Charge of the DCIS Southeast Office, for the diligence of DCIS agents in developing the evidence necessary to successfully prosecute this fraud. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle M. Heldmyer.
Each defendant will be sentenced by Senior United States District Judge Lacey A. Collier on August 26, 2008, at 10:30 a.m. Each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release on the conspiracy to defraud the government, and a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment, a $500,000 fine (or twice the value of the property) on the conspiracy to launder money. James Patrick Glenn faces a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years supervised release for conflict of interest.