A former senior manager for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) pleaded guilty on Thursday to manipulating the agency’s procurement process to benefit a company with $1.3 million in payment.
The defendant has been identified as 61-year-old Scottie Borders of Arlington, Virginia.
Borders was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and potential financial penalties.
He is expected to receive a sentence of 33 to 41 months and a fine of up to $150,000, in addition to restitution under federal sentencing guidelines.
Borders, who held a full-time position as a senior program manager for WMATA, was part of the decision process of the transit agency’s contracts with third parties.
He was the primary point of contact for all business conducted between WMATA and a New Jersey-based company, which produces traffic signs.
Borders and other defendants allegedly secured the selection, award, and administration of contracts and bids between the company — named as “Company 1” in the court documents — and WMATA for traffic signs and safety products between January 2011 and September 2020, in return for unlawful personal gains.
According to the documents, Borders abused his position at WMATA by making materially false representations to the agency in favor of the above-mentioned company.
WMATA paid the company more than $1.3 million in total over the course of nine years for products and services such as poles, decals, bus stop signs, flags, and other tools.
The sentencing hearing is scheduled to take place on January 19 next year.