ATLANTA — Hayat Choudhary, CEO of Atlanta Airport Shuttle Services, Inc., doing business as Meskerem Restaurant, has been sentenced to federal prison in a bribery case involving Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Choudhary payed $20,000 in cash to a city of Atlanta Department of Procurement official to secure a contract at the airport.
According to U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak, in May 2017, the Department of Procurement announced that the City of Atlanta was looking to find a vendor to establish and operate a kitchen/restaurant at the Ground Transportation Building at Atlanta’s airport.
The restaurant would serve the large and growing number of taxi, limousine, and rideshare drivers that provided transportation services to passengers traveling to and from Atlanta’s airport.
The Department of Procurement projected that the restaurant would generate annual revenue of $200,000, and generate rent payments to the City of Atlanta of $13,000 per year.
The City of Atlanta offered a 10-year term for the restaurant contract, with a three-year renewal option.
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Choudhary’s company, Meskerem Restaurant, was one of the bidders for the contract.
Pak said after the contract was announced, Choudhary paid a $10,000 bribe to an unnamed official, who was responsible for overseeing the bidding process, to obtain the contract. After the first bribe payment, the unnamed official told Choudhary that he had to pay another $10,000 to receive the contract. Choudhary paid the second $10,000 bribe.
Following Choudhary’s payment of $20,000 to the unnamed official, the City of Atlanta awarded the contract to Choudhary’s company.
Choudhary, 58, of Lilburn, Georgia, was sentenced to 1 year, 10 months in prison, followed by three years' supervised release.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated this case.
The public expects that government contracts are awarded solely based on merit," said Pak said. “As the defendant learned, there are serious consequences for those who believe they can bribe their way into a contract. We will continue to vigorously investigate pay-to-play schemes at all levels of government.”
“Choudhary’s actions erode the public’s trust in a process that is meant to be fair to all contract applicants,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Hopefully this sentencing will help restore some of that trust, or at least send a message that the FBI is determined to pursue anyone who would undermine the integrity of how contracts are awarded.”
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