Retired 4-star Navy admiral convicted after using his post to line his 'own pockets'

Retired four-star Navy Admiral Robert Burke, formerly the Navy's second-highest ranking officer, was convicted by a federal jury Monday on felony bribery charges.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, who announced the verdict a day after instructing criminals to "run for the hills," said in a statement, "When you abuse your position and betray the public trust to line your own pockets, it undermines the confidence in the government you represent."

While overseeing U.S. naval operations in Europe, Russia, and most of Africa, and commanding thousands of military personnel, Burke awarded a government contract to a company that had been told not to communicate with him. Several months later, Burke ended up with a lucrative gig and hundreds of thousands of stock options at that same company.

The company — which the Department of Justice did not name but the New York Times indicated was the New York-based technology and work force training company Next Jump — provided a workforce training pilot program to a "small component of the Navy" from August 2018 through July 2019. The original indictment against Burke indicated that the company had subcontracts for this work from another company, similarly unnamed in federal court documents, via the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

'Burke made several false and misleading statements to the Navy.'

According to the DOJ, the Navy scrapped its contract with the company in late 2019 and directed it not to contact Burke.

Despite this directive, the company's two co-chief executives, Yongchul Kim and Meghan Messenger — who were both arrested and charged last year in connection with the scheme — allegedly emailed Burke on May 10, 2021, to propose a $20 million contract for their company to provide workforce training, despite no indication of need on the part of U.S. naval forces in Europe and Africa, bids or otherwise.

The trio reportedly met in Washington, D.C., in July 2021.

During their meeting, Kim and Messenger agreed that Burke would use his official position in the Navy to secure a new contract for the company in exchange for a position there following his retirement, said the DOJ. The trio also apparently agreed that the second highest-ranking officer in the Navy would lean on other officers to award the company with an additional training contract, which one of Burke's co-defendants allegedly estimated to be valued at "triple digit millions."

Burke commanded his staff in December 2021 to dish out a $355,000 contract to the company to train personnel under his command in Italy and Spain. Burke then championed the company after the January 2022 training session in a failed effort to get another senior admiral to award it a government contract.

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Photo (left): Terry Wyatt/Getty Images; Photo (right): Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The Justice Department indicated that in order to conceal the scheme, "Burke made several false and misleading statements to the Navy, including by falsely implying that Company A's employment discussions with Burke only began months after the contract was awarded and omitting the truth on his required government ethics disclosure forms."

Several months later, Burke went to work for Next Jump at a yearly starting salary of $500,000 with the added bonus of a grant of 100,000 stock options.

At the time of Burke's arrest last May, then-FBI Special Agent in Charge David Scott stated, "As a four-star admiral, Burke not only cheated U.S. taxpayers but also did a disservice to military personnel under his command."

The original criminal indictment against Burke stressed that the admiral had a lawful duty not to accept any gift or other item of monetary value from any person or entity seeking official action from the Navy; not to engage in outside employment that conflicted with official government duties and responsibilities; not to participate personally and substantially in an "official capacity in any particular matter that had a direct and predictable effect on his financial interests"; and to disqualify himself from taking official action that affected financial interests of a potential employer of seeking employment.

Blaze News reached out to the Pentagon for comment, which deferred to the Navy. The Navy did not respond by publication time. Next Jump similarly did not respond when pressed for comment.

'The jury was prevented from hearing the whole truth.'

After a five-day trial, a federal jury found Burke guilty of conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, performing acts affecting a personal financial interest, and concealing material facts from the United States.

Burke is due to be sentenced on Aug. 22 and could land up to 30 years in the slammer.

Pirro said Monday, "Our office, with our law enforcement partners, will root out corruption — be it bribes or illegal contracts — and hold accountable the perpetrators, no matter what title or rank they hold."

The admiral's lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, said in an interview Monday that Burke plans to appeal his conviction, reported the Times.

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"They presented a tiny, tiny sliver of evidence," said Parlatore. "We do think this is a case where a wrongful conviction was obtained because the jury was prevented from hearing the whole truth."

Reed Brodsky, a lawyer for Next Jump, told the Times that he expects a different outcome in the cases of Kim and Messenger, who are scheduled for trial in August.

"I expect the evidence will show that Burke and others at the Navy misled Charlie and Meghan in material ways, and they're not liable for bribing the guy who lied to them," wrote Brodsky. "I think it'll be a little embarrassing for the Navy."

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