By Arun Kumar,IANS,
Washington : An Indian American navy contractor charged in a multimillion-dollar kickback and bribery scheme has pleaded guilty and could face up to 15 years in prison.
Anjan Dutta-Gupta, 58, founder president of his now-defunct Advanced Solutions for Tomorrow (ASFT), a technology service company, entered his plea Thursday in a federal court in Providence, Rhode Island.
He is now scheduled to be sentenced by US District Court Chief Judge Mary Lisi Dec 9.
Dutta-Gupta was arrested in February on charges he paid $8 million in bribes over more than a decade to Ralph Mariano, a civilian programme manager and senior systems engineer with the US Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), his relatives and associates.
Prosecutors say in return, Mariano increased funding to navy contracts held by ASFT, based in Roswell with offices in Rhode Island.
As part of his plea agreement, Dutta-Gupta will cooperate with prosecutors, who agreed to recommend a reduced sentence.
Mariano, 52, of Arlington, Virginia, has been charged but not indicted.