Philip Flores, the owner and president of Intellipeak Solutions, Inc., has admitted to participating in a bribery scheme involving $16 million in government contracts. Flores pleaded guilty in federal court, acknowledging his involvement with James Soriano, a former employee at the Naval Information Warfare Center.
Flores provided Soriano with valuable items such as expensive meals and tickets to major sporting events. In exchange, Soriano used his position to secure no-bid government contracts for Intellipeak through the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) program. Soriano falsified evaluations and approved invoices knowing that Intellipeak was subcontracting work against SBA rules.
The plea agreement reveals that Flores exploited Intellipeak's 8(a) status by marketing it to other defense contractors for access to sole source contracts, charging a fee of 6-8% of the contract value. The government paid over $16 million for work on approximately 26 contracts, with profits estimated between $550,000 and $1.5 million. Flores agreed to pay restitution to three small businesses affected by the scheme.
Flores is set for sentencing on June 13, 2025. Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden stated that "those who undermine the integrity of the government procurement process will be held accountable." John E. Helsing from the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General noted that Flores sought personal enrichment at taxpayers' expense.
Greg Gross from NCIS emphasized their commitment to maintaining fair procurement processes within the Navy. Tyler Hatcher from IRS Criminal Investigation highlighted efforts to prevent fraud in DoD contracting processes.
Shafee Carnegie from SBA OIG stressed aggressive investigation into bribery schemes exploiting small business contracts.
Soriano also pleaded guilty to related charges and is scheduled for sentencing on May 9, 2025.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick C. Swan, Katherine E.A. McGrath, and Carling E. Donovan are prosecuting this case.
