Over a three-year period, an Oregon businessman solicited as much as $4.1 million in illegal kickbacks to steer defense subcontracts that worked on helping wounded veterans.
And once investigators were zeroing in on his scheme, Brodie Shaw Thomson created fake business plans to try and hide his fraudulent dealings, according to court records.
On Wednesday, Thomson was sentenced to three years and six months in federal prison, two years supervised release following that prison time and $5 million in restitution.
“The defendant thought he could outsmart the system, he was mistaken,” said Frank Robey, Director of the U.S. Criminal Investigation Command’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit in a statement.
The 45-year-old man was living in Woodbridge, Virginia. During part of the 2012 to 2015 time period of the fraud scheme, according to court documents. Thomson, while working for a company in Arlington, Virginia, solicited commercial bribes and kickbacks from an Oregon-based company. Neither companies were identified in the U.S. Attorney’s Office release.
Thomson is listed as a former senior vice president at Armed Forces Services Corporation. That corporation was acquired by Magellan Health in 2016, according to the Magellan Health website.
Thomson’s company provided behavioral health and other specialty services to federal agencies, including defense agencies.
“The illegal manipulation of Federal government contracts costs the taxpayer and warfighter alike,” said Robert E. Craig Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the DCIS Mid-Atlantic Field Office.
Court documents show that the company received or managed contracts and subcontracts for the Army’s Sexual Harassment and Assault Response and Prevention Program, or SHARP; the Mission and Installation Contracting Command inside DoD contracting; the U.S. Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment for overseeing recovery care coordinators for wounded veteran rehabilitation.
Though convicted for offenses between 2012 to 2015, the court records allege that the fraud scheme perpetrated by Thomson began as early as 2010.
“A purpose of the scheme was for Thomason to unjustly enrich himself and others by soliciting, accepting and attempting to accept kickbacks and bribes from (Oregon-based company) in return for Thomson providing favorable treatment to the (Oregon-based company) …” according to court documents.
That treatment included the Army’s SHARP program, programs with the Department of Health and Human Services and other defense contracts, such as the Marine Wounded Warrior Regiment.
“Mr. Thomson’s scheme to defraud the Department of Defense and wounded military veterans threatened the integrity of our military’s acquisition process and wasted taxpayer money,” said John Salazar, Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Washington Field Office. “This sentencing emphasizes how important it is for our military personnel and family members to remain vigilant and always report suspected fraud. It also serves as a warning that crimes targeting our military family will be fully investigated and the criminals brought to justice.”
To hide the kickback payments, he listed them as consulting fees and did not inform his company that he was taking the payments, according to court documents.
A single kickback listed in the documents amounted to nearly $82,000.
Thomson was indicted in March 2020 and pleaded guilty in June. Though charged with kickbacks and other fraud-related offenses, he ultimately pleaded guilty to a single count of wire fraud.
As part of his plea deal, Thomson had to forfeit property he owned at 2826 Cedarest Road, Fairfax, Virginia, a 3,026 square foot home on a 1.3-acre lot with four bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms, valued on real estate websites at $1.01 million.
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.
