Man Pleads Guilty in Tech Office Fraud

A 44-year-old Herndon man admitted in federal court Thursday that he participated in a bribery and kickback scheme that involved the District government's technology office.

Sarosh Mir, who worked for a technology contracting firm, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Washington to one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud. He faces six months to ayear in prison under federal sentencing guidelines. No sentencing date has been set, federal prosecutors said.

In court papers, Mir admitted that he inflated invoices for contracts with the D.C. government and submitted bills for "ghost" employees who did no work.

He is the first person to plead guilty in a scandal that highlighted lax oversight in the District's Office of the Chief Technology Officer. Three others were charged in March, including Yusuf Acar, the District's acting chief technology security officer. Acar is being held without bail.

-- Del Quentin Wilber