Two men have been charged in a kickback bribery scheme involving taxpayer money, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
Elvis Gordon, a 51-year-old supervisor with the Atlanta office of the federal Food and Drug Administration, accepted bribes from a Hiram businessman in exchange for contracts, prosecutors said in a news release.
Ivan Ponder, 38, got $100,000 of taxpayer money in the form of contracts at Gordon’s direction between November 2010 and February 2016, according to their indictment document.
“Every federal employee has the responsibility to use the public’s funds wisely,” said head FDA internal affairs investigator Antoinette V. Henry.
Gordon was able to sneak Ponder’s company the money for so long in “micro-purchases,” according to the indictment, which are amounts below the federal threshold to report the payments.
Gordon’s supervisor role was to oversee building maintenance and contract out its upkeep. And Ponder had such a business, P&E Management.
In exchange for the contracts, Ponder covered the car payment of a Cadillac owned by Gordon’s girlfriend for four years, according to the indictment. Ponder also bought “Australian Sheepskin Seat Covers” from Amazon.
In addition, prosecutors claim that Ponder paid for a three-night Florida beach vacation to Destin, a Delta flight for Gordon’s mother, another vacation for Gordon to Savannah and more.
Gordon also had a debit card tied to P&E’s checking account, the indictment said.
On one occasion, prosecutors said, Gordon used the debit card to pay for FDA business trip expenses and then Gordon later tried to get reimbursed from the agency.
“Gordon and Ponder allegedly carried out a kickback scheme that lined both their pockets with taxpayer money for nearly six years,” said Byung J. Pak, new head attorney of the justice department’s northern Georgia district.
Their next scheduled court dates were not listed online.
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