SYRACUSE, NEW YORK - Muhammad Z. Aabdin, age 30, of the Bronx, New York, has been indicted for offering bribes to a public official and using facilities of interstate commerce to commit a bribery offense. The indictment was announced today by Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon and Special Agent in Charge Christopher F. Algieri, Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office.
The indictment, returned by the grand jury on June 10, 2021, alleges that in September and October 2020, Aabdin offered unsolicited bribes to a contracting officer with the Veterans Administration (“VA”) in Syracuse. Aabdin allegedly offered to share profits with the VA contracting officer in exchange for her awarding VA contracts to him for personal protective equipment (“PPE”) and assisting him in getting payments on such contracts. The contracting officer reported Aabdin’s alleged bribery offers to law enforcement.
Aabdin has been released pending disposition of the charges. The charges in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The charges filed against Aabdin carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
This case is being investigated by VA Office of Inspector General, and it is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Perry.
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