The former chief executive officer of FutureNet Group Inc.,
an information technology company, was sentenced today to 12 months in prison
followed by one year of supervised release and a fine in the amount of $10,000
for his role in orchestrating a scheme to bribe an official from the City of
Detroit to obtain benefits for FutureNet.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the
Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Timothy
Slater of the FBI’s Detroit Division made the announcement.
Parimal D. Mehta, 55, of Northville, Michigan, previously
pleaded guilty to one count of federal program bribery before U.S. District
Judge Robert H. Cleland of the Eastern District of Michigan.
According to admissions made in connection with his plea,
from 2009 through August 2016, Mehta hand-delivered more than $6,500 to Charles
L. Dodd, the former Director of Detroit’s Office of Departmental Technology
Services, including two cash bribes paid in the restroom of a Detroit-area
restaurant in 2016. Dodd previously
pleaded guilty to bribery and was sentenced to 20 months in prison on Sept. 11,
2018.
Mehta admitted that he sought preferential treatment for
FutureNet in exchange for the bribes he paid to Dodd. Among other things, Mehta asked Dodd to cause
FutureNet to be selected to fill open positions for contract personnel and to
implement particular technological projects in various city departments. Mehta also asked Dodd to supply him with
confidential information regarding Detroit’s internal operations, including
information regarding Detroit’s internal budgets for particular technology
projects and personnel, which would benefit FutureNet in its dealings with
Detroit.
The FBI’s Detroit Division investigated the case. Deputy Chief Robert J. Heberle and Trial
Attorney James I. Pearce of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section
are prosecuting the case.
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