A former NASA employee found to have pressured contractors to use a friend’s business has pled guilty to making false statements while being investigated, according to the Department of Justice.
Nathaniel Wright, 55, while working full-time as a NASA employee at Goddard Space Flight Center, used his position between 2009 and 2012 to direct work under multiple task orders to a small business whose experience did not fit the contracts. He also suggested to contractors how to craft documents that would justify including the friend’s business.
When interviewed about these practices by NASA's Office of Inspector General in 2012, Wright knowingly made false statements about his involvement with assisting the small business, as well as an incident where he indicated to a contractor he would not consider their proposals unless they reviewed his résumé for a potential job.
Wright admitted to these interactions as part of a plea agreement entered with the DOJ Criminal Division's Public Integrity Section and the District of Maryland, who are prosecuting the case. Wright is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 25, 2017.
