Navy contractor accused of scamming the branch out of $50M

Navy contractor accused of scamming the branch out of $50M
Navy contractor accused of scamming the branch out of $50M

The federal government is seeking to extradite a defense contractor to the US over allegations that he scammed the Navy out of roughly $50million by overcharging port fees.

US authorities are seeking to have Frank Rafaraci, 68, chief executive of Multinational Logistics Services, or MLS, brought to the US from Malta, where he was arrested last week, and charged with overcharging for various services and bribing Navy officials for insider information, according to an arrest warrant viewed by the Washington Post

Among the instances of alleged overcharging include one in January 2015 in which MLS billed the Navy roughly $231,000 for 'port authority fees' to allow the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson to dock at Manama, the capital of Bahrain, despite its port authority only charging $12,686 for the vessel, according to the affidavit. 

Among the alleged instances of bribery, in August of that year Rafaraci met with an unnamed Navy official, and handed him a envelope of $20,000 in cash and told him to 'keep up the good work,' according to his arrest warrant, the Post reported.

Navy defense contractor Frank Rafaraci is accused scamming the branch out of $50million. Among the schemes involved one in which he charged $231,000 for or 'port authority fees' to allow the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (pictured) to dock at Manama, the capital of Bahrain, in 2015

Navy defense contractor Frank Rafaraci is accused scamming the branch out of $50million. Among the schemes involved one in which he charged $231,000 for or 'port authority fees' to allow the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (pictured) to dock at Manama, the capital of Bahrain, in 2015

He would meet with the officer again three years later to allegedly hand over a $13,500 bribe at a hotel in Miami. The bribes were allegedly for insider information on future Navy contracts, according to the Times of Malta. 

The officer, who served as a Navy liaison to Bahrain before working for the Army, would plead guilty to bribery in June, and has been working with investigators, according to court documents viewed by the Post. His identity and case file has been concealed, the outlet reported.

In addition to bribery, Rafaraci is accused of money laundering to avoid US taxes by moving cash from corporate accounts in Malta and the UK to a shell company in the United Arab Emirates. He had nicknamed the scheme 'Keep Going,' according to the Post. 

MLS has been awarded roughly $1.3billion in contracts with the Navy and other federal agencies since 2010 to service ships at

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