Air Force master sergeant admits to rigging bids, bribing official dubbed ‘Godfather’

A former U.S. Air Force master sergeant has pleaded guilty to fraudulently inflating information technology contracts for the U.S. Pacific Air Forces by at least $37 million, using the excess funds to enrich himself, benefit co-conspirators, and channel bribes to a federal public official known to the group as “Godfather,” the Justice Department announced.

Alan Hayward James, 51, of Texas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bribery, and conspiracy to rig bids in connection with the scheme. He also agreed to pay at least $1.45 million in restitution.

According to a plea agreement and court filings in U.S. District Court in Honolulu, Hawaii, the scheme ran from at least April 2016 through approximately April 2025. During that time, James and his co-conspirators artificially inflated the cost of IT contracts serving Air Force installations across the Pacific. The excess funds were distributed to James, his family members, the family of an Air Force civilian employee, and other co-conspirators. Among the benefits funded by the scheme was an all-expenses-paid multi-day stay at a luxury resort on the North Shore of Oahu in 2023.

From at least May 2019 through October 2022, James also directed co-conspirators — who were supposed to be competing against one another for government contracts — on the amounts they should bid, effectively undermining the competitive bidding process, according to the plea agreement.

“Over thirty-seven million dollars — that’s how much the U.S. Air Force overpaid because of the scheme that the defendant admitted to, under oath and in open court,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Daniel Glad of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.

U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson for the District of Hawaii said the scheme not only defrauded taxpayers and harmed honest competitors but also diverted resources from essential military services.

James faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on the wire fraud conspiracy count, 15 years for bribery, and 10 years for the Sherman Act bid-rigging conspiracy. Fines may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the victims’ losses if those figures exceed the statutory maximums. A federal judge will determine his sentence at a later date.