SACRAMENTO, Calif. — John Brewer, 48, of San Francisco, was
sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. to 15 months in
prison for bid rigging, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, Brewer and his co-defendant,
Brent Vinch, were the owners of, and senior executives for, a company called
Expert Network Consultants (ENC), which submitted bids to the State of
California for various government contracts. Brewer admitted that from 2008
through early 2012, he conspired with co-defendants Vinch and Loraine Dixon, among
others, to rig the state’s competitive bidding process by creating inflated
bids for submission by co-conspirators to state contracting agencies in an
effort to ensure that Expert Network Consultants received the contracts. Brewer
solicited bids from individuals and companies that had no intention or ability
to perform the work called for in the contracts, and Brewer directed Vinch to
create and submit noncompetitive bids. In total, ENC won more than 40 state
contracts as a result of the bid-rigging conspiracy from multiple state
agencies, including the Employment Development Department, Department of
Justice, Department of Motor Vehicles, and Department of Insurance. The value
of those contracts exceeded $3 million.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal
Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Yelovich is
prosecuting the case. The United States is grateful for the assistance of the
California Attorney General’s Office in conducting the initial investigation
into this matter and referring it to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Co-defendant Vinch pleaded guilty to bid rigging on December
14, 2017, and is awaiting sentencing. Charges are pending against Dixon. The
charges against her are allegations, and she is presumed innocent until and
unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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