Essex County VA Employee Sentenced For $1.2 Million Kickback Scheme

A former Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employee who worked as a supervisory engineer at the campus in East Orange was sentenced on Tuesday to 46 months in prison for accepting more than $1.2 million in kickback payments.

Jarod Machinga, 45, of Hopewell, previously pleaded guilty to honest services wire fraud, wire fraud and engaging in a monetary transaction in criminally derived property.

According to court documents and statements, as a supervisory engineer, Machinga had the authority and influence to direct certain VA construction contracts to particular companies. Machinga partnered with a person (Individual 1) - to set up three companies that could be used to obtain VA work. He then directed more than $6 million worth of VA construction projects to those companies.

Machinga admitted he accepted $1,277,205 in kickbacks in exchange for his official action and influence between 2007 and July of 2012.

Congress has established a program through which certain VA contracts are reserved for small businesses that are owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans. One of Individual l’s companies entered into such a contract with the VA after Machinga falsely represented to the VA that it was a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business, even though Individual 1 was not a veteran.

Machinga then used his official position and influence at the VA to award such a contract to the company, which was paid more than $3 million by the VA.

Machinga also admitted that for many of the projects awarded to Individual 1’s companies, he recruited other contractors to perform the work so the companies were able to keep the money paid to them without having to incur the expense of actually completing the projects.

In addition to the prison term, Machinga was sentenced to one year of supervised release.