Sacramento, California - Clint Gregory, 53, of Sacramento, was sentenced Thursday by United States District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. to six and a half years in prison for a mail fraud scheme involving bid rigging in connection with contracts issued by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Gregory worked for Caltrans in Stockton as a Senior Transportation Engineer Supervisor. Over a five-year period, Gregory received cash, a Persian rug, a cellphone, and other gifts in exchange for awarding Caltrans contracts to a primary corporate contractor. Gregory and others also arranged for third-party companies to submit straw bids for contracts for which the primary contractor was also competing, permitting Gregory to award the contracts to either a straw bidder or the primary contractor and create the illusion of true competition. The straw companies, who performed no work, were paid a commission for their assistance, and this arrangement was not disclosed to Caltrans. As a result of the fraud, Caltrans incurred a loss of more than $1.2 million.

According to Gregory’s guilty plea, he used his authority at Caltrans to approve fraudulent invoices submitted by the primary contractor and others. As a result, the primary contractor and the straw-bidder companies received payment for work that was never performed. He also requested that the primary contractor provide him with a fictitious invoice to conceal an unlawful purchase he made for parts for his personal airplane.

In imposing sentence, the Court found that Gregory had obstructed justice by making false statements to law enforcement about specific purported bribe payments made to accounts he had set up in the name of shell companies. A restitution hearing has been scheduled for July 21, 2016.

This case was the product of an investigation by the FBI and the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office. Caltrans assisted with the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Philip A. Ferrari, Michele M. Beckwith, and André M. Espinosa prosecuted the case.