Federal contractor sentenced in $2M kickback scheme

A former federal contractor was sentenced to four years in prison for a kickback scheme involving shell companies and $2 million in bribes.

Victor Villalobos had previously pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal on Oct. 23. Villalobos, who had worked for a federal prime contractor at Fort Rucker, Ala., solicited bribes from Florida subcontractor Maxim Silinsky in 2009 to ensure the Silinsky's subcontracts would not be negatively impacted.

From June 2009 to December 2014, Villalobos received 57 wire transfers from Silinsky totaling $1.9 million. Federal authorities also said that Silinsky provided $60,000 in kickbacks directly to Villalobos on two separate occasions in 2015.

To hide the funds, Villalobos directed them to nominee accounts and entities and filed false tax returns. The former contractor must also pay $542,562 in restitution to the IRS and agreed to be debarred from federal contracting.

Silinsky pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return in November 2015 and cooperated in the case against Villalobos.

He also cooperated with authorities on a case involving Air Force Master Sgt. Trevor Smith, who agreed to disclose confidential contract bid information in exchange for more than $260,000 in bribes. Silinsky was sentenced to prison for a year and a day on Feb. 2.

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