A Smyrna man admitted in court Tuesday that while working as a government contractor in Afghanistan he gave a company a contract in exchange for kickbacks to the tune of $250,000.

Nebraska McAlpine, 56, faces up to 10 years in prison, according to court documents.

McAlpine was working as a project manager for an American defense contractor in Kabul between 2015 and 2016 when he brokered the deal with an Afghan executive.

McAlpine convinced his supervisors that the Afghan executive's company should receive “sole source” subcontracts, meaning projects wouldn’t have to go through the open bidding process.

The business was paid $1.6 million to assist the Afghanistan Ministry of the Interior Ultra-High Frequency radio communication program, court documents show.

The deal was that the company would then pay McAlpine 15 percent of that, which is roughly what McAlpine got.

Court records say he hid the kickbacks by “storing the cash payments in his personal effects and then physically transporting them himself to the United States.”

From there, he spread most of the money around banks in metro Atlanta in increments of less than $10,000, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 18.

The name of the business nor the Afghan executive of the government contractor were included in the court documents. There was also no mention of whether or not the company or executive saw any punishment.

Like Cobb County News Now on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter and Instagram

In other news:

Bullets flew through the wall of one man's master bedroom.

About the Author

Keep Reading

David Bradford, of Peachtree Corners, has pleaded guilty to a fraud charge associated with his work as chief operating officer of Alpharetta investment firm Drive Planning. The company is at the center of a $300 million alleged Ponzi scheme. (YouTube Screenshot)

Credit: YouTube Screenshot

Featured

Angie McBrayer, ex-wife of James Aaron McBrayer, leans her head on her son Sam McBrayer as she and her three children and two grandchildren (from left) Jackson McBrayer, 3, Piper Jae McBrayer, 7, Katy Isaza, and Jordan McBrayer, visit the grave of James McBrayer, Thursday, November 20, 2025, in Tifton. He died after being restrained by Tift County sheriff's deputies on April 24, 2019. His ex-wife witnessed the arrest and said she thought the deputies were being rough but did not imagine that McBrayer would die. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC