Retired U.S. Navy Admiral Found Guilty in Bribery Scheme
Admiral Robert Burke (USN-Ret.) of Coconut Creek, Florida, was convicted this week of bribery for taking a government vendor job in the future in exchange for giving the business a government contract.
After a five-day trial, a federal jury convicted Burke of conspiracy to conduct bribery, acts affecting personal financial interests, and concealing important information from the United States. Judge Trevor N. McFadden of the U.S. District Court set the sentence date for August 22, 2025.
Special Agent in Charge Greg Gross of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Economic Crimes Field Office, Assistant Director in Charge Steven J. Jensen of the FBI Washington Field Office, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, and Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, all announced the verdict.
“When you abuse your position and betray the public trust to line your own pockets, it undermines the confidence in the government you represent. 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,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro.
Burke was a four-star admiral who managed United States Navy activities in Europe, Russia, and the majority of Africa from the years 2020 to 2022, as evidenced by the court records and the evidence that was presented throughout the trial. He also commanded thousands of civilians and military personnel during this time period.
Between the months of August 2018 and July 2019, the two co-defendants, Kim and Messenge,r served as co-chief executive officers of a firm known as Firm A.
During that time, they designed and implemented a workforce training pilot program for a limited portion of the Navy. At the end of 2019, the Navy canceled a contract with Company A and instructed Company A to refrain from receiving any communication from Burke.
In July of 2021, the co-defendants went to Washington, District of Columbia, to meet with Burke in order to rebuild Company A’s commercial ties with the Navy. This encounter took place despite the Navy’s directives. During the discussion, the accused defendants came to an agreement that Burke would use his position as a Navy Admiral to direct a contract to firm A in exchange for future employment at the firm.
They reportedly agreed that Burke would use his official position to convince other Navy officials to give another contract to Company A to teach a major section of the Navy. The amount of this contract, according to one of the co-defendants, was allegedly estimated to be in the “triple-digit millions.”
In December of 2021, Burke gave his staff the order to issue a contract to Company A for the purpose of training men who were under Burke’s command in Italy and Spain. The deal was worth $355,000.
The training was carried out by Company A throughout January 2022. Following that, Burke advocated for Company A in an unsuccessful attempt to persuade another senior Navy Admiral to grant Company A another contract. Company A was ultimately unsuccessful.
Burke made a number of false and misleading statements to the Navy in order to hide the scam. These claims included falsely stating that Company A’s hiring conversations with Burke only began a few months after the contract was granted, as well as omitting the truth on his necessary government ethics disclosure forms.
In October of 2022, Burke started working for Company A, where he was given a grant of 100,000 stock options and provided with a beginning salary of $500,000 a year.
This case was investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the FBI’s Washington Field Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca G. Ross for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorneys Trevor Wilmot and Kathryn E. Fifield of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. It was investigated and indicted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Rothstein.
