A former Air Force airman and civilian employee as well as two contractors have been charged with conspiring to defraud the Air Force of $5.4 million in contracts, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
John Norman Sims, a 51-year-old retired Air Force officer and former Niceville resident, and Ronald Benton Powers, 58, of Jacksonville were arrested on federal warrants Thursday and appeared in United States District Court in the District of Columbia and the Middle District of Florida, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
George Guyton Cannady, 63, of North Carolina is expected to make his first court appearance on the charges in the next few days.
A 34-count indictment charges the three men with conspiracy, bribery, theft of government funds, disclosing or obtaining contractor bid and proposal information, honest services mail fraud, money laundering conspiracy, and making false statements, the news release said.
While he was an Air Force contractor and civilian employee, Sims allegedly accepted bribes from Cannady and Powers, who were defense contractors, according to the news release. In exchange for the bribes, Sims guided Air Force contracts to Cannady’s and Powers’ companies.
Sims gave acquisition requirements and pricing data for future contracts to Cannady and Powers, the U.S. Attorney’s Office says. He also would mold the requirements for future contacts to match items Powers had or could obtain.
The men lied to Air Force investigators and officials about their financial relationship and activities, the news release said.
Sims also has been charged in a separate count with the unauthorized possession of classified materials after his employment with the Air Force ended, according to the news release.
A trial date will be set when Sims, Cannady and Powers appear in federal court in Pensacola for arraignment.
If convicted, they could face up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
The Air Force Office of Special Investigations investigated this case.