Business owner pleads guilty to bribing City of Atlanta official to win contract at Atlanta’s airport

ATLANTA - Hayat Choudhary, CEO of Atlanta Airport Shuttle Services, Inc., d/b/a Meskerem Restaurant, has pleaded guilty to bribery for paying $20,000 in cash to a City of Atlanta Department of Procurement official to secure a contract at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

“Pay-to-play bribery schemes cause citizens to lose trust in the integrity of the contracting process,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Public corruption involving government officials is reprehensible.  Our office remains committed to eliminating corruption in government at all levels, and we want to thank the City of Atlanta for its cooperation in this investigation.”

“Choudhary tried to buy his way around a process that is meant to be fair to all contract applicants,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “His actions erode the public's trust in government and that's why the FBI and our law enforcement partners are determined to prosecute those who would undermine the integrity of how contracts are awarded.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: The City of Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (“Atlanta’s airport”) is the principal airport for Georgia and the southeastern United States.  In 2017, Atlanta’s airport – the busiest passenger airport in the world at the time – generated more than $500 million in revenue for the City of Atlanta, including approximately $8.8 million in fees and charges from private ground transportation companies (such as taxicabs, limousines, ridesharing, and hotel and parking lot shuttles).  One such company was Atlanta Airport Shuttle Services, Inc., d/b/a Meskerem Restaurant, owned and operated by the defendant, Hayat Choudhary.

The City of Atlanta’s Department of Procurement was responsible for acquiring all services for Atlanta’s airport.  The Department of Procurement’s “Guiding Principles” commit its personnel to “award contracts that are consistent with the policy, regulations, rules, and laws,” and “without regard for personal gain.”

On or about May 2, 2017, the Department of Procurement announced that the City of Atlanta sought to enter a contract for a vendor to establish and operate a kitchen/restaurant at the Ground Transportation Building at Atlanta’s airport.  The kitchen/restaurant would serve the large and growing number of taxi, limousine, and rideshare drivers who provided transportation services to passengers traveling to and from Atlanta’s airport.

The Department of Procurement projected that the kitchen/restaurant at the Ground Transportation Building would generate annual revenue of $200,000, and result in rent payments to the City of Atlanta of $13,000 per year.  The City of Atlanta offered a ten-year term for the kitchen/restaurant contract, with a three-year renewal option.  Choudhary’s company, Atlanta Airport Shuttle Services, Inc., d/b/a Meskerem Restaurant, was one of the bidders for the contract.

“Official-1” was the Department of Procurement official responsible for overseeing the bidding process and, thus, influenced the awarding of the kitchen/restaurant contract.  After the contract was announced, Choudhary paid a $10,000 bribe to Official-1 to obtain the contract.  After the first bribe payment, Official-1 instructed Choudhary that he had to pay another $10,000 to receive the contract.  Choudhary paid the second $10,000 bribe.  Following Choudhary’s payment of $20,000 to Official-1, the City of Atlanta awarded the contract to Choudhary’s company.

Based on his conduct, Hayat Choudhary, 58, of Lilburn, Georgia, was charged in a Criminal Information with, and pleaded guilty to, conspiracy to commit bribery.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor C. Wilmot is prosecuting the case.