Ahsha Nateef Tribble, a Deputy Regional Administrator in FEMA Region II; Donald Keith Ellison, former president of Cobra Acquisitions, LLC; and Jovanda R. Patterson, a.k.a. "Jo/Jojo," former FEMA Deputy Chief of Staff, have been indicted and arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit bribery of public officials; acts affecting a personal financial interest; false statements; disaster fraud; honest services wire fraud, Travel Act violations, and wire fraud.
The indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico included 15 counts against the following individuals:
- Ahsha Nateef Tribble – Federal Emergency Management Agency ("FEMA"), Region II, deputy regional administrator, assigned to work in Puerto Rico as part of FEMA's response to Hurricane María. From October 2017 to September 2018, Ms. Tribble also was the Sector Lead for Power and Infrastructure in Puerto Rico and the Recovery Office Deputy Director – Infrastructure Directorate/Disaster Recovery Manager in the Office of the FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer.
- Donald Keith Ellison – President of Cobra Acquisitions, LLC, until June 2019.
- Jovanda R. Patterson, a.k.a. "Jo/Jojo," – FEMA Deputy Chief of Staff, assigned to San Juan, Puerto Rico, from October 2017 to March 2018. Ms. Patterson resigned from her position with FEMA in July 2018 to work for Cobra Energy LLC.
The indictment alleged that the defendants used Ms. Tribble's positions in FEMA to benefit and enrich themselves and defraud the United States. Prosecutors alleged that, following the passage of Hurricane María over Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, the three defendants came to Puerto Rico as part of the recovery and restoration of Puerto Rico's electric power grid. In Ms. Tribble's position as Sector Lead and Deputy Director, she reported directly to the Federal Coordinating Officer and was FEMA's primary leader as to the restoration of electric power on the island.
Mr. Ellison was president of Cobra Acquisitions, LLC, the main contractor for the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority ("PREPA") as to recovery work performed following Hurricane María. PREPA executed two contracts with Cobra with a total contract value of approximately $1,845,429,800, according to the authorities. Work performed under both contracts was paid through PREPA with federal funds from FEMA.
Prosecutors asserted that, from October 2017 to April 2019, Ms. Tribble and Mr. Ellison developed a personal relationship wherein Mr. Ellison provided Ms. Tribble with things of value with the intent to influence Ms. Tribble's performance of official acts. As alleged, Mr. Ellison provided Ms. Tribble with personal helicopter use, hotel accommodations, airfare, personal security services, and the use of a credit card. As part of Ellison's pattern of providing things of value to Tribble, he also secured employment within Cobra's affiliated companies for her friend, Ms. Patterson, according to prosecutors.
In exchange, the government asserted, Ms. Tribble performed official acts, including influencing, advising, and exerting pressure on PREPA and FEMA officials, in order to award restoration work to Cobra and accelerate payments to Cobra.
Count 1 of the indictment charged Ms. Tribble and Mr. Ellison with a conspiracy to commit bribery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 based on soliciting and giving things of value to Ms. Tribble in order to influence Ms. Tribble's performance of official acts as a FEMA employee. To further the conspiracy, the government contended, Ms. Tribble and Mr. Ellison communicated using private email accounts, private cellular telephones, including a disposable prepaid cellular number, Apple iMessage, and SMS texts rather than FEMA issued email accounts or cellular telephones.
Counts 2 through 5 of the indictment charged Ms. Tribble and Mr. Ellison with honest services wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1346, 1343 pertaining to a scheme to deprive the United States and its citizens of the honest services of Ms. Tribble, a public official.
Count 6 of the indictment charged Ms. Tribble and Mr. Ellison with disaster fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1040.
Counts 7 through 10 of the indictment charged Ms. Tribble with Travel Act violations prohibited by 18 U.S.C. § 1952(a)(3) pertaining to her use of interstate wire and electronic communications, with the intent to promote, manage, establish, and carry on the bribery scheme.
Counts 11 and 12 of the indictment charged Mr. Ellison with false statements in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001. As alleged, on March 15, 2019, Mr. Ellison stated to FBI and DHS OIG agents as a part of a voluntary interview that he had no personal relationship with Ms. Tribble and was only around her in relation to business. As alleged, he also stated that he had not taken a helicopter trip with Ms. Tribble on or about February 7, 2018, but knew both statements were false.
Count 13 of the indictment charged Ms. Patterson with committing acts affecting personal financial conflicts of interest in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 208. The government asserted that while Ms. Patterson was negotiating employment with Cobra and its affiliates from March to July 2018, Ms. Patterson participated as a FEMA employee in a May 8, 2018 Past Performance Evaluation for Cobra Logistics LLC as a part of a vendor bid process.
Counts 14 and 15 of the indictment charged Ms. Patterson with wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343. According to prosecutors, while negotiating employment with Cobra and its affiliates from March 2018 through July 2018, Ms. Patterson falsely represented her FEMA salary to be calculated based on the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule ("GS") Pay Table at GS 14 Step 10. In fact, the government asserted, Ms. Patterson's salary and GS level were lower, and the material misrepresentation caused her to be offered an annual salary of $160,000 plus a 30 percent bonus.
Ms. Tribble and Mr. Ellison are facing a forfeiture allegation of the following: $1,000,000 contained in Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. account in the name of Donald Keith Ellison, seized on April 26, 2019; $3,425,512.93 contained in Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. account in the name of Ellison, seized on June 18, 2019; One Myco Boat Trailer; one Caterpillar Model D5K2LGP Tractor; one Caterpillar Model 320EL Hydraulic Excavator; $71,551.40 in a checking account at JP Morgan Chase, in the name of Ellison; $276,583.84 contained in a savings account at JP Morgan Chase, in the name of Ellison; $100,306.70 contained in a savings account at JP Morgan Chase, in the name of Ellison and Jakyln F. Garrett; One 2018 Invincible 40-foot catamaran; and one 2018 Ford F-150 "XL" crew cab pickup truck.
"These defendants were supposed to come to Puerto Rico to help during the recovery after the devastation suffered from Hurricane María. Instead, they decided to take advantage of the precarious conditions of our electric power grid and engaged in a bribery and honest services wire fraud scheme in order to enrich themselves illegally," said U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez. "All government officials are entrusted with performing their duties honestly and ethically. The charged offenses are reprehensible, more so in light of PREPA's and Puerto Rico's fiscal crisis."
Steven A. Meyerowitz
Steven A. Meyerowitz, a Harvard Law School graduate, is the founder and president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. He may be contacted at [email protected].