When tech billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency were rooting out examples of waste, fraud, and abuse in federal spending, it was quickly determined that the U.S. Agency for International Development was arguably the worst offender in that regard.

On Thursday, it was revealed that a USAID official and three federal contractors had pleaded guilty to a bribery scheme involving more than $500 million in taxpayer-funded contracts, according to the Daily Wire.

In reaction to the news of that corruption, Musk suggested that there were likely many more similar examples that investigators could find.

Guilty pleas

The Justice Department announced in a Thursday press release that Roderick Watson, 57, a USAID contracting officer, had pleaded guilty to bribery of a public official, for which he faces up to 15 years in prison when sentenced in October.

Also pleading guilty to a conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official were a trio of government contractors, including Walter Barnes, 46, the owner and president of Vistant; Darryl Britt, 64, the owner and president of Apprio; and Paul Young, 62, a subcontractor who worked for both Barnes and Britt.

Those three individuals each face up to five years in prison when sentenced later this year, while the companies Vistant and Apprio entered into a deferred prosecution agreement that will see them pay nominal fines and be subjected to additional federal oversight and scrutiny.

Bribes in exchange for the manipulation of contract award processes

According to the DOJ, the corrupt scheme began in 2013 and ran through at least 2022, and involved Watson accepting bribes from Barnes and Britt -- which were often facilitated by Young -- in exchange for manipulating procedures and steering certain federal contracts their way.

The bribes included "cash, laptops, thousands of dollars in tickets to a suite at an NBA game, a country club wedding, downpayments on two residential mortgages, cellular phones, and jobs for relatives," and were typically disguised as "electronic bank transfers falsely listing Watson on payroll, incorporated shell companies, and false invoices."

In all, Watson is estimated to have received around $1 million in bribes in exchange for nearly $550 million in more than a dozen separate federal contracts.

Interestingly enough, as the Daily Wire noted, the scheme further involved taking advantage of a racially discriminatory law known as the Small Business Administration's 8(a) contracting program that "set-aside" normal procurement procedures and competitive bidding processes for minority, women, or veteran-owned companies seeking federal contracts up to a certain amount.

"Just the tip of the iceberg"

"Watson exploited his position at USAID to line his pockets with bribes in exchange for more than $550 million in contracts," IRS Criminal Investigation Chief Guy Ficco said in a statement. "While he helped three company owners and presidents bypass the fair bidding process, he was showered with cash and lavish gifts."

"Corruption in government programs will not be tolerated. Watson abused his position of trust for personal gain while federal contractors engaged in a pay-to-play scheme," USAID Acting Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Sean Bottary said. "USAID-OIG is firmly committed to rooting out fraud and corruption within U.S. foreign assistance programs. Today’s announcement underscores our unwavering focus on exposing criminal activity, including bribery schemes by those entrusted to faithfully award government contracts."

"Watson was entrusted to serve the interests of the American people -- not his own -- and his criminal actions for his own personal gain undermine the integrity of our public institutions," Maryland U.S. Attorney Kelly Hayes said. "Public trust is a hallmark of our nation’s values, so corruption within a federal government agency is intolerable. This office, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to pursue and prosecute corruption at every level to ensure accountability and protect public trust."

Musk, along with DOGE, helped uncover countless examples of waste, fraud, and abuse totaling hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars, especially at USAID. In reaction to the news of the guilty pleas in the bribery scheme, he remarked, "This is just the tip of the iceberg."