The Justice Department has indicted six people for working to defraud a number of government agencies, including those in the defense and intelligence community, through a series of bid-rigging, kickback and bribery schemes, the agency announced Tuesday.

The move is among “the first charges in the Department of Justice’s ongoing investigation into IT manufacturers, distributors and resellers that sell products and services to government buyers, including the intelligence community,” Justice said in a statement.

Victor Marquez, who owns two IT companies with sizable government contracts, faces a four-count indictment of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and major fraud against the US for rigging bids and inflating contract payments. Two others who worked alongside him, Antwann CK Rawls – an employee at one of his companies – and Scott Reefe – an IT sales manager – were also charged.

Court documents filed in Maryland allege the three exchanged bid information before submitting bids, and one emailed them that he would submit a “third high bid.” Marquez and his co-conspirators submitted these coordinated bids knowing that the government was seeking independent, competitive bids for the contracts and despite Marquez’s certification as an independent bidder, Justice alleges.

The government often awards the contract to the lowest reasonable bidder or the best value bidder, depending on the circumstances. In fraud or racketeering cases, firms conspire to manipulate the bidding process by coordinating bids to undermine competition and illegally increase their profits. Marquez did not respond to a request for comment.

Separately, Breal Madison Jr. was indicted on 13 counts including conspiracy, bribery of a public official, mail fraud and money laundering for orchestrating a multi-year scheme that defrauded his employer of more than $7 million in connection with the sale of IT products. to various government agencies.

IT contractor Brandon Scott Glisson, who provided services to the US government, along with his supervisor, Lawrence Eady, a former senior government official, were indicted for their parts in the Madison scheme.

Madison and his co-conspirators conspired to steal funds from his employer at the time, Rubrik, and from government agencies. According to the charges, he directed more than $9 million in stolen proceeds to his shell company, Trident Technology Solutions, as well as another shell entity.

The DOJ served Rubrik, a cloud cybersecurity firm, with a grand jury subpoena last October about a former employee who had worked in its sales division, citing potential violations of federal law related to government contracts.

“We are deeply disturbed by the alleged conduct of a former employee in connection with a scheme to defraud Rubrik and the government. The alleged behavior is inconsistent with our business values ​​and ethos and violates our code of conduct and other company policies. As previously disclosed in public filings, we have cooperated with authorities and will continue to do so,” said a Rubrik spokesperson. Nextgov/FCW.

Madison did not return a request for comment.

“Antitrust violations can undermine competition for products and services that are vital to our national security,” Deputy Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division said in a news release. “When fraudsters siphon off taxpayer funds, the Antitrust Division and its Collusive Procurement Force (PCSF) partners across government will hold accountable those who conspire to undermine competition, line their pockets with federal procurement dollars, and compromise the integrity of our intelligence community programs. “

Officials from the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the FBI, the National Security Agency’s Office of the Inspector General and the CIA’s Office of the Inspector General also issued statements affirming their offices’ commitment to stopping such fraud schemes.