Worker Pleads Guilty to Kickbacks, Tax Evasion

A former aerospace worker has pleaded guilty to violating the federal Anti-Kickback Act of 1986 for receiving $246,897 in kickbacks from a subcontractor and failing to report the income to the Internal Revenue Service.

James J. Yekrang, 45, of Beverly Glen pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles to one count of taking kickbacks and one count of tax evasion. As part of his plea agreement, Yekrang admitted owing $43,000 in back taxes and failing to report income in 1996, 1997 and 1998.

Yekrang was employed by Allied Signal, which later merged with Honeywell, as a business process analyst. In 1996, prosecutors said, he began accepting kickbacks from Object Foundry, which provided software-related consulting services to Allied Signal.

Object Foundry owner Sammy Dev paid Yekrang in exchange for his recommending subcontract awards and contract extensions, and for approving some inflated labor claims submitted to Allied Signal, said Thom Mrozek of the U.S. attorney’s office.

Dev pleaded guilty earlier this month to violating the anti-kickback statute and aiding and assisting in the filing of a false corporate income tax return, Mrozek said.

Yekrang is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Consuelo Marshall on July 9. He faces up to 15 years in federal prison.