Four Plead Guilty in USAID $550M Scheme, Elon Says ‘Tip of the Iceberg’

A U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) official and three private contractors have pleaded guilty to charges related to a decade-long bribery scheme that funneled over $550 million in federal contracts to favored companies, according to a June 2025 announcement from the Department of Justice.

The scheme, which began in 2013, centered on USAID contracting officer Roderick Watson, 57, of Woodstock, Maryland, who accepted more than $1 million in bribes to manipulate the awarding of contracts to Apprio, Inc. and its subcontractor Vistant, both certified small businesses under a federal race-based set-aside program.

The fraud involved at least 14 prime government contracts and exploited the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) contracting program.

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The program is designed to support businesses considered “socially and economically disadvantaged” by allowing them to secure federal contracts through sole-source awards, bypassing the standard competitive bidding process.

“The defendants sought to enrich themselves at the expense of American taxpayers through bribery and fraud,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

“Their scheme violated the public trust by corrupting the federal government’s procurement process. Anybody who cares about good and effective government should be concerned about the waste, fraud, and abuse in government agencies, including USAID.”

According to court records, Watson collaborated with Apprio president Darryl Britt, 64, of Myakka City, Florida, to steer no-bid contracts to Apprio and Vistant in exchange for bribes. Watson used his official position to favor these companies repeatedly over the course of a decade.

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Also pleading guilty were:

• Walter Barnes, 46, of Potomac, Maryland, owner and president of PM Consulting Group LLC, operating as Vistant. Barnes pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official and securities fraud.
• Darryl Britt, 64, of Myakka City, Florida, owner and president of Apprio, Inc., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official.
• Paul Young, 62, of Columbia, Maryland, who served as president of a subcontractor to both Apprio and Vistant, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official.

This is just the tip of the iceberg https://t.co/MXXCJBDdLn

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 13, 2025

As described in the DOJ’s statement, Apprio and Vistant leveraged their 8(a) certifications to obtain sole-source federal contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

These certifications granted access to lucrative set-aside contracts without the requirement of a competitive bidding process, which is ordinarily meant to ensure fairness and prevent favoritism.

“Watson was entrusted to serve the interests of the American people — not his own — and his criminal actions for his own personal gain undermine the integrity of our public institutions,” said U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland.

“Public trust is a hallmark of our nation’s values, so corruption within a federal government agency is intolerable. This office, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to pursue and prosecute corruption at every level to ensure accountability and protect public trust.”

Federal authorities emphasized that the fraudulent abuse of race-based contracting preferences not only compromised the fairness of the system but also wasted taxpayer dollars and disadvantaged other eligible businesses that were not part of the scheme.

Sentencing dates for all four defendants have not yet been announced.

The DOJ indicated that further investigation into the misuse of SBA 8(a) contract awards is ongoing.

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