A 25-count federal indictment unsealed today charges a half-dozen people with corruption and fraud related to defense contracting at San Diego-based Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command.
Two of the six individuals named in the indictment were federal employees who worked at SPAWAR.
Gary Alexander, 49, and his wife, Kelly, 46, for almost eight years accepted cash bribes and other items of value from people seeking employment as government contractors, the indictment alleges.
Those charged with paying the bribes are Elizabeth Ramos, 42, and Louis Williams, 43, owners of Technical Logistics Corp., a company operating in National City.
The indictment charges that Ramos and Williams bribed the Alexanders with cash, a Rolex watch and other items of value in return for Gary Alexander's promise to use his influence at SPAWAR to ensure the hiring of TLC as a subcontractor on several projects, including a military drug enforcement project based in Key West, Fla.
Throughout the period of the alleged scheme, TLC was paid about $4.8 million as a government subcontractor, according to the indictment.
The indictment also names Jackie Godwin, a 67-year-old former manager at Kratos Defense Security Solutions Inc., a large San Diego-based defense prime contractor, who allegedly hired the subcontractors as directed by Gary Alexander.
The indictment also charges that 43-year-old Sinthia Nares participated in the scheme and received government-funded jobs at both TLC and Kratos.
In addition to obtaining government contracts through bribery, the indictment alleges the defendants caused fraudulent bills to be submitted to -- and paid by -- the United States government for personal goods and services, including computer database repairs; cell phone services; two 52-inch high- definition televisions; two home entertainment systems; a PlayStation-3 system; a Blu-ray disc player; a digital camera; and a global positioning system.
Gary and Kelly Alexander are also charged with three counts of filing false tax returns by allegedly deliberately omitting income and disclosing only their government salaries to the Internal Revenue Service.
Several of the defendants are charged with lying to government agencies after providing false statements to investigators.
All of the defendants except Godwin -- who was arrested in Georgia -- are set to make their first court appearances on Wednesday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leo Papas in San Diego.
