Bronx Man Sentenced for Offering Bribe to Government Official

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK - Muhammad Z. Aabdin, 33, of the Bronx, New York, was sentenced today in federal court in Syracuse to serve 3 years of probation after previously pleading guilty to offering a bribe to a public official, announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Special Agent in Charge Christopher F. Algieri, Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office.

In pleading guilty previously, Aabdin admitted that in September 2020, he offered a bribe to a contracting officer with the Veterans Administration (“VA”) in Syracuse. Specifically, Aabdin offered to share profits with the VA contracting officer in exchange for her awarding VA contracts to him for personal protective equipment (“PPE”). Aabdin made the initial bribe offer by email and then reiterated it in subsequent text messages and in a recorded phone conversation with an undercover agent posing as the contracting officer. In text messages dated October 15, 2020, Aabdin offered a bribe of $8,333.33 in the event he received a VA contract for N-95 masks leading to a total profit of $25,000. Aabdin did not receive any VA contracts, and his actions did not cause a loss to the VA.

This case was investigated by VA Office of Inspector General, and it was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Perry.