Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
The former Director of Operations of the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) Office in Busan, South Korea, was sentenced today to five years in prison for his role in a bribery conspiracy and lying to federal investigators.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Xavier Fernando Monroy, 65, of Brentwood, New York, engaged in a conspiracy to commit bribery with the owner of DK Marine, a South Korea-based company that provided services to the U.S. Navy, as well as with a former MSC captain, to steer U.S. Navy business to DK Marine. From 2011 to 2014, Monroy used his position of influence as a public official to benefit his co-conspirator, including by steering over $3.3 million in husbanding services contracts for U.S. military ships to DK Marine. Husbanding service providers supply items or services for ships such as water ferry and taxi services, ground transportation and other logistical requirements.
Evidence at trial also proved that Monroy provided a co-conspirator with confidential and other proprietary internal U.S. Navy information. In exchange for these benefits, the co-conspirator paid bribes to Monroy, including thousands of dollars in cash, personal travel expenses, meals and alcoholic beverages, and prostitution services. Additionally, during a voluntary interview in July 2019, Monroy repeatedly lied to special agents of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) and Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) when they confronted him about his illegal conduct.
In August 2022, a federal jury in the District of Columbia convicted Monroy of conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, and making false statements.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Peter Tolentino of the NCIS Economic Crimes Field Office made the announcement.
The DCIS and NCIS investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Sara Hallmark and Amanda Fretto Lingwood of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.