Atlanta Business Owner Sentenced For Bribing City Official

ATLANTA, GA — Hayat Choudhary, CEO of Atlanta Airport Shuttle Services, Inc., doing business as Meskerem Restaurant, has been sentenced to federal prison in a bribery case involving Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Choudhary paid $20,000 in cash to a city of Atlanta Department of Procurement official to secure a contract at the airport, according to U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.

In May of 2017, the Department of Procurement announced that the City of Atlanta sought to enter a contract for a vendor to establish and operate a kitchen/restaurant at the Ground Transportation Building at Atlanta’s airport. The kitchen/restaurant would serve the large and growing number of taxi, limousine, and rideshare drivers that provided transportation services to passengers traveling to and from Atlanta’s airport.

The Department of Procurement projected that the kitchen/restaurant at the Ground Transportation Building would generate annual revenue of $200,000, and generate rent payments to the City of Atlanta of $13,000 per year. The City of Atlanta offered a ten-year term for the kitchen/restaurant contract, with a three-year renewal option.

Choudhary’s company, Meskerem Restaurant, was one of the bidders for the contract.

After the contract was announced, Choudhary paid a $10,000 bribe to an unnamed official to obtain the contract. After the first bribe payment, that official instructed Choudhary that he had to pay another $10,000 to receive the contract. Choudhary paid the second $10,000 bribe.

Following Choudhary’s payment of $20,000, the City of Atlanta awarded the contract to Choudhary’s company.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated this case.

Choudhary, 58, of Lilburn, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones to one years, ten months’ imprisonment, to be followed by three years’ supervised release.

“The public expects that government contracts are awarded solely based on merit,” said U.S. Attorney Pak. “As the defendant learned, there are serious consequences for those who believe they can bribe their way into a contract. We will continue to vigorously investigate pay-to-play schemes at all levels of government.”