A United States Navy four-star admiral could find himself docked in a federal prison cell on charges of bribery.
The Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against retired Admiral Robert Burke on Friday.
Burke is accused of steering a Navy contract to a private company in court documents in exchange for the promise of a lucrative post-retirement role with the company.
The retired admiral is facing charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, performing acts affecting a personal financial interest, and concealing material facts from the United States.
Two private executives allegedly involved in bribing Burke, Yongchul “Charlie” Kim and Meghan Messenger, also face the first two charges.
Kim and Messenger are listed as co-CEO’s of NextJump, a technology company, on its official website.
The company’s X account saluted Burke for accepting a senior role at the business shortly after his 2022 retirement.
We are delighted to welcome Bob Burke as a Senior Partner at Next Jump! He joins our team of world experts in growing Next Jump’s human performance community. Bob brings a wealth of leadership experience from serving four decades in the US Navy. pic.twitter.com/9d7jpzYATm
— Next Jump (@nextjump) October 17, 2022
Is the potential 30-year sentence fair for what Burke is accused of?
Burke allegedly lied to Navy officials about the timing of his employment negotiations with NextJump, declining to disclose that he had received an offer of employment from the company before arranging a military contract for them.
Burke is accused of agreeing to use his command influence to secure a further Navy contract for NextJump — arrangements that would net the private business “triple digit millions,” according to what prosecutors call an estimation from Kim.
Burke’s career included roles as the commander of Allied Joint Force Command in Italy, according to an official Navy biography.
Burke also served as deputy commander of the Navy’s 6th Fleet and the service’s vice chief of naval operations.
The corruption scandal isn’t the first of its kind involving the Navy.
The service was fleeced for millions of dollars in the “Fat Leonard” scandal.
That extensive case saw a Malaysian defense contractor bribing Navy officers with lavish gifts in return for use of his own overpriced port services, according to KPBS-TV.
Burke could face up to thirty years in federal prison if convicted on all four charges.
Retired four-star Navy Admiral Robert Burke was arrested Friday on bribery charges. pic.twitter.com/hjxW0JtIIU
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) June 1, 2024
Burke’s co-defendants could face as many as twenty years behind bars.
