Retired Navy admiral arrested on bribery charges

A former Navy admiral and two business executives were arrested Friday night on federal bribery charges related to an alleged scheme to influence government contracting with a company in exchange for future employment.

According to a Department of Justice press release, in 2021, retired four-star admiral Robert Burke and business co-CEOs Yongchul “Charlie” Kim and Meghan Messenger allegedly hatched a scheme in which Burke would direct a sole-source contract between the Navy and the executives’ company in exchange for a lucrative job offer.

Kim and Messenger’s company had previously worked with the Navy on a training pilot program, but their contract was terminated in 2019. While the executives’ company is only listed as “Company A” in the release, tech company NextJump has Kim and Messenger listed as co-CEOs.

In December 2021, Burke, who oversaw naval operations in Europe, Russia and Africa between 2020 and 2022, allegedly had Navy staff grant the $355,000 contract to Kim and Messenger’s company. In October of the following year, Burke started working at the company at a $500,000 yearly salary, in addition to 100,000 stock options.

“To conceal the scheme, Burke allegedly made several false and misleading statements to the Navy, including by creating the false appearance that Burke played no role in issuing the contract and falsely implying that Company A’s employment discussions with Burke only began months after the contract was awarded,” according to the release.

Burke, Messenger and Kim have each been charged with bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery, while Burke is also charged with “performing acts affecting a personal financial interest and concealing material facts from the United States.” He faces a maximum of 30 years in prison. Kim and Messenger each face a maximum of 20 years imprisonment.