SYSTEMIC FAILURES: Trump admin takes action after massive fraud uncovered at agency Dems tried to protect from DOGE

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From Fox News:

Following the uncovering of a massive bribery scandal at USAID, the Small Business Administration (SBA) is ordering a full audit of all government contracting officers who have exercised grant-awarding authority under the agency’s business development program over the last 15 years.

In a letter obtained by Fox News Digital, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said the scale of the USAID fraud is a “damning reflection of systemic failures in oversight and accountability.” She further said that the fraud “was not an isolated incident.”

In response, Loeffler instructed Associate Administrator Tre Pennie, who oversees government contracts awarded by SBA, to “act decisively” to crack down on any potential similar abuses in the agency.

Loeffler instructed Pennie to immediately initiate a full-scale audit of the agency’s awarding officers back to 2010.

USAID was mostly dismantled by DOGE amid waste, fraud, and abuse cuts made under Elon Musk and President Donald Trump.

The agency was supposed to be administering civilian foreign aid, but Roderick Watson, a USAID contracting officer, pleaded guilty to bribery. He had allegedly been engaged in a massive, long-term scheme since at least 2013, receiving at least $1 million from contractors Walter Barnes and Darryl Britt. TThe 57-year-old pleaded guilty to “bribery of a public official,” according to a DOJ press release.

The DOJ, said in a press release said that Britt and Barnes “regularly funneled bribes to Watson, including cash, laptops, thousands of dollars in tickets to a suite at an NBA game, a country club wedding, downpayments on two residential mortgages, cellular phones, and jobs for relatives. The bribes were also often concealed through electronic bank transfers falsely listing Watson on payroll, incorporated shell companies, and false invoices.”

Watson is alleged to have received bribes “valued at more than approximately $1 million as part of the scheme,” the DOJ reported.

“The role of federal government contracting officers is not ceremonial or self-dealing; rather, it is a position of immense authority and fiduciary responsibility,” said Loeffler. “The contracting process must be transparent and built on merit, not personal gain.”

The information listed is from Fox News.

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