Robert Burke, 62, of Coconut Creek, Florida, United States is a retired U.S. Navy admiral. He, Yongchul “Charlie” Kim, 50, of New York City, New York, USA and Meghan Messenger, 47, of New York City were arrested on May 31, 2024.
Who is Robert Burke?
As a four-star U.S. Navy admiral, Burke oversaw naval operations in Europe and most of Africa. He also commanded thousands of civilian and military personnel.
Kim and Messenger are the co-chief executive officers of a company that provided a workforce training pilot program to a small component of the U.S. Navy from August 2018 through July 2019. In late 2019, the U.S. Navy terminated a contract with the company and directed the company not to contact Burke.
In July 2021, Kim and Messenger allegedly met with Burke in Washington, D.C., USA to reestablish the company’s business relationship with the U.S. Navy. Kim and Messenger allegedly agreed that Burke would use his position as a U.S. Navy admiral to steer a sole-source contract to the company in exchange for future employment at the company.
In December 2021, Burke allegedly ordered his staff in the U.S. Navy to award a $355,000 contract to the company to train personnel under Burke’s command in Italy and Spain. In January 2022, the company performed the training and in October 2022, Burke started working at the company at a yearly starting salary of $500,000 and a grant of 100,000 stock options.
Burke, Kim, and Messenger were each charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and bribery. In addition, Burke was charged with performing acts affecting a personal financial interest and concealing material facts from the U.S.
CONAN Daily 