Former District of Columbia Public School Employee and Government Contractor Indicted in Bribery Scheme

Press Release

Defendants Allegedly Schemed to Overcharge DCPS for Under-Delivered Goods

WASHINGTON-A federal grand jury yesterday returned an indictment charging Dana Garnett, 60, of Hyattsville, Maryland, a former District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) employee, with conspiracy to commit bribery and wire fraud. The indictment also charges Yelake Meseretu, 40, owner of U.S. Office Solutions, a vendor of goods to DCPS, with bribery and wire fraud in exchange for Garnett steering business to Meseretu's business, and for accepting significantly fewer supplies than ordered in exchange for the bribe payments.

The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist, of the FBI Washington Field Office's Criminal and Cyber Division, and Daniel W. Lucas, Inspector General for the District of Columbia.

The indictment alleges that over the course of at least five years, Garnett accepted payments from several vendors who supplied goods to DCPS. In exchange, Garnett steered business to the vendors. Some of the payments were generated from falsified orders awarded to the vendors that were paid in full by DCPS. According to the indictment, however, Garnett and co-conspirator Patricia Bailey, another former DCPS employee had coordinated with the vendors to deliver a lesser amount of goods than were listed on the orders. Based on false certifications made by or at the direction of Garnett, DCPS paid the full amount of the orders as if the orders had been fulfilled in full. The vendors paid cash to Garnett and Bailey in various locations in the D.C. and Maryland area.

In several related cases, three defendants have accepted responsibility and pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme. Patricia Bailey pleaded guilty pursuant to a plea agreement and information filed in October 2023 in U.S. District Court. Two of the vendors who made cash payments to Garnett and Bailey have also pleaded guilty: Donald McWhirter, owner of General Merchandise, and Duane King, owner of American Business Supplies (ABS), for their roles in the scheme. King additionally pleaded guilty to his role in a similar scheme in which King made bribe payments to District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Services Department (DC FEMS) employees Charity Keys and Louis Mitchell in return for the award of business by DC FEMS to King's company and for the authorization of payments to King's company for goods that were not actually delivered. Sentencing is pending for each of the three defendants who have pleaded guilty.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This case is being investigated by FBI's Washington Field Office and the District of Columbia Office of the Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Aloi and Christopher R. Howland of the Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.

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Updated September 6, 2024