U.S. Attorney's Office
District of Maryland
February 27, 2025
Greenbelt, Maryland – Today, a Washington, D.C., man pleaded guilty to bribing a United States General Services Administration (GSA) official.
According to court documents, James Tillman, 57, bribed a public official (Public Official A), a former GSA contracting officer representative. GSA is a federal agency that manages federal property. Tillman was the sole owner of a general construction company that performed subcontracting work on GSA projects.
Phil Selden, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon, Justice Department Criminal Division; GSA Deputy Inspector General Robert C. Erickson, GSA Office of Inspector General (GSA-OIG); Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the FBI Baltimore Field Office; Deputy Inspector General Kelly P. Mayo, Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (DOD-OIG), Defense Criminal Investigative Service; and Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari Ph.D., U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS-OIG) made the announcement.
As outlined in court documents, in 2020 and 2021, Tillman provided approximately $59,800 worth of money and items of value to Public Official A in exchange for Public Official A’s role in directing GSA federal-project work to Tillman’s company. In 2020, Tillman paid Public Official A approximately $8,000 cash in a parking lot in Clinton, Maryland and in 2021, at Public Official A’s direction, Tillman purchased a sports car for Public Official A. Tillman and his company grossed more than $100,000 in profits from this scheme.
Tillman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery of a federal public official and bribery of a federal public official. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison followed by up to three years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman has scheduled sentencing for June 2, 2025 at 2 p.m. A federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney Phil Selden commended GSA-OIG, FBI Baltimore Field Office, DOD-OIG, and DHS-OIG for their work in the investigation. Mr. Selden also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel Crespo, and Department of Justice Trial Attorney Jonathan E. Jacobson, who are prosecuting the federal case.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office press release
