A former Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) project manager has pleaded guilty to falsifying information as part of what federal officials call a fraudulent scheme.
This, according to a press release that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee published Friday.
That man, James Christopher Jenkins, 60, resides in Chattanooga. He pleaded guilty to one count of making a false official statement, in violation of federal law, the press release said.
According to court documents, Jenkins was employed from May 2011 to February 2017 as a Senior Project Manager in the Nuclear Power Group and the Major Projects Group at Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). He had fiduciary and management responsibilities that required him to file annual reports disclosing any outside positions, employment, and income.
The press release said that Jenkins failed to disclose numerous conflicts with companies in which he had an ownership interest or owed substantial sums of money.
“Between 2012 and 2016, Jenkins failed to annually disclose certain debts and income on the Report and sought to profit outside the scope of his employment at TVA,” the press release said.
“This failure to report led to an actual conflict of interest from which Jenkins personally benefited.”
TVA employees in a position to negotiate with vendors and contractors on behalf of TVA are required to file an annual Confidential Financial Disclosure Report. The report requires those employees to report certain personal assets, sources of income, and debts, and to report their other outside financial positions, agreements or arrangements, the press release said.
Meanwhile, a seven-count indictment unsealed in September charged two Danville, California men with conspiracy to defraud the TVA of more than $300,000.
Authorities charged Anthony Gigliotti, 74, the CEO of Autonomic Software, Inc. with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, three counts of mail fraud, and three counts of wire fraud. Officials charged Alexander Gigliotti, 36, the vice president of Autonomic, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. U.S. Marshals arrested both men in California.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
