BOSTON – A Florida man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Springfield in connection with paying bribes to receive contracts for work at a college in New York.
Willian Borges, 30, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., pleaded guilty on Oct. 26, 2022 to one count of conspiracy and three counts of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for Feb. 27, 2023. Borges was arrested in September 2020.
Borges was a principal of DWD Builders, a general contracting firm, from 2018 to 2019. During this time, Borges paid bribes to co-conspirator Floyd Young, who held positions involving facility maintenance at a New York college, in exchange for preference in obtaining contracts for construction, repair, maintenance, and other work for the college. The bribes Borges paid Young were made in cash in the amount of 15% of the contract during face-to-face meetings. In addition, as Borges received payment for work done at the college, he paid Young bribes on a periodic basis. Borges also inflated the amount of the invoices submitted to the college in order to be repaid the cost of the bribe payment made to Young. On occasion, Young and Borges arranged for no-work invoices to be submitted to the college and then split the payment.
In August 2020, Young pleaded guilty to steering contracts for construction, repair, maintenance and other work for the colleges to favored contractors, including Borges, in exchange for bribe payments typically in the amount of 15% of the contract. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 2, 2023.
The charge of conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. The charges of bribery concerning programs receiving federal fund each provide for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow of Rollins’ Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.