HUNTSVILLE – Two North Alabama men are among three men sentenced for their respective roles in a conspiracy to bribe a public official, the U.S. Attorney’s office announced.
U.S. District Court Judge Liles C. Burke sentenced Francisco Guerra, 56, of Lexington to 60 months in prison; Jason Ingram, 48, of Rogersville to 24 months in prison; and Coogan Preston, 56, of Columbia, S.C., to 64 months in prison.
In December 2024, Guerra, Preston, and Ingram pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe a public official.
“The government officials and contractors working on Redstone Arsenal play a critical role in supporting the United States military,” U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona said. “The individuals sentenced today chose personal gain over their professional duty. These sentences were the result of that choice and should serve as a warning to others.”
According to the plea agreements, the scheme began in 2016 and continued until 2021.
As part of the scheme, Guerra agreed to provide money and other items of value to Preston, a government contractor at Redstone Arsenal. In exchange for the bribes, Preston identified subcontracting opportunities for companies owned and operated by Guerra and convinced the prime contractor to use one of Guerra’s companies as a subcontractor.
“As a government contracting official, Preston traded the public’s trust given to him for greed,” said Demetrius Hardeman, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “Using their investigative and forensic accounting skills, IRS Criminal Investigation special agents were able to follow the money — bringing Preston and his conspirators to justice.”
The Department of the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case with assistance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and the United States Department of Defense Office of Inspector General – Defense Criminal Investigative Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lloyd Peeples prosecuted the cases.
“In collaboration with its investigative partners, the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) vigorously pursues fraud and corruption that threaten the integrity of the DoD, particularly when such crimes impact the well-being of our Nation’s Warfighters,” said Jason Sargenski, Special Agent-in-Charge of DCIS’s Southeast Field Office. “DCIS remains steadfast in working with our law enforcement partners to ensure those who commit fraud against the U.S. Government are held accountable.”
