Defense contractor sentenced to 4 years in prison in Navy bribery scheme

The former owner, CEO and president of a defense contracting company who pleaded guilty to bribing a San Diego-based Navy civilian employee in exchange for his help in securing millions of dollars in government contracts was sentenced Friday to four years in prison.

Philip Flores, 54, admitted to providing gifts like expensive meals and tickets to major sporting events to James Soriano, who worked at the Naval Information Warfare Center as a contracting officer’s representative. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the cost of the tickets — which included the 2019 Super Bowl and a 2018 World Series game — totaled over $18,000.

Soriano, who has also pleaded guilty to federal charges, in turn helped Flores’ company, Intellipeak Solutions Inc., obtain government contracts through the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) program. The government paid Intellipeak over $16 million for work on around two dozen government contracts and task orders, and the scheme helped the company make a profit of between $550,000 and $1.5 million, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors also say Flores was convicted in another case that involved defrauding the federal government.

While that case did not involve bribery, it did involve the production of falsified documents in order to secure millions of dollars in contracts, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Flores was convicted by a federal jury in Georgia of conspiracy and fraud and was sentenced to four...