Yelake Meseretu, a former vendor for District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), was convicted by a federal jury on charges related to bribery and wire fraud. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Meseretu, 41, owned U.S. Office Solutions, a company that supplied office goods and janitorial products to DCPS. According to evidence presented at trial, he paid bribes and kickbacks over at least five years to two DCPS procurement officials in exchange for contracts and business directed toward his company.
The jury found Meseretu guilty of one count each of conspiracy to violate federal law, bribery, and honest services wire fraud after an eight-hour deliberation following a four-and-a-half-day trial. Sentencing is set for February 6, 2026 before U.S. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta. Meseretu could face up to 15 years in prison.
Announcing the verdict alongside Pirro were FBI Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the Washington Field Office and Inspector General for the District of Columbia Daniel W. Lucas.
Prosecutors described how Meseretu worked with two DCPS insiders to defraud the school system by delivering fewer supplies than ordered while submitting paperwork showing inflated quantities. Based on false certifications from the DCPS officials involved, Meseretu received full payment for these orders despite incomplete deliveries and then shared the overpayments with the officials through cash kickbacks.
In addition to Meseretu’s conviction, Patricia Bailey, a former administrative officer at DCPS’s Cardozo Education Campus, pleaded guilty in October 2023 to one count of bribery for her role in the scheme. Sentencing remains pending for all three defendants who have pleaded guilty.
The investigation was led by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the District of Columbia Office of the Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher R. Howland and John Borchert from the Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section.
"Garnett and Meseretu: 24cr281
Bailey: 23cr336"
