LOS ANGELES – The owner of a business that operated parking lots has agreed to plead guilty in a 15-year bribery scheme that allowed him to defraud the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs out of more than $13 million that should have been paid in relation to the operation of parking facilities on the VA’s Los Angeles medical campuses.
In a plea agreement filed today in United States District Court, David Richard Scott, 58, the owner of Westside Services LLC (WSS), agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud.
Scott, who has been in custody since his arrest in November, is expected to appear in court on Thursday to formally enter his guilty pleas.
The scheme, which resulted in the payment of nearly $300,000 in bribes to VA contracting officer Ralph Tillman, cost the VA more than $13 million it should have received under a contract with WSS to operate parking lots on the campuses of the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (VA GLAHS). The vast majority of the activity authorized under the contract took place at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center near Westwood and included parking for UCLA baseball games, the Wadsworth and Brentwood theaters, and the PGA golf tournament at the Riviera Country Club.
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