Ex-Air Force master sergeant pleads guilty in $37M bid-rigging scheme

A retired Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force on Wednesday pleaded guilty to inflating the cost of information technology contracts for the U.S Pacific Air Forces by at least $37 million to enrich himself and co-conspirators, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Alan Hayward James, 51, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bribery and conspiracy to rig bids in a federal court in Honolulu.

From April 2016 until about April 2025, James and co-conspirators falsely inflated IT contracts for Air Force installations across the Pacific. From at least May 2019 until about October 2022, James directed his co-conspirators on the amounts they should bid to circumvent the bidding process for contracts.

James agreed to pay over $1.4 million in restitution to the Department of Defense.

“Over thirty-seven million dollars —........

© The Hill