InkBlog

A sales guru who helped a US security firm land a vital $600million contract to stop fentanyl and weapons flooding across the border has killed himself while awaiting trial in a $3million FBI probe into embezzlement claims while at his previous job. 

George Walther-Meade, 50, took his own life in San Diego, California, on November 6, the city's medical examiner confirmed to DailyMail.com.

He had been arrested in February this year over allegations he had defrauded a previous employer.

But he went onto help rival firm Rapiscan secure a lucrative deal to provide scanning equipment at the US-Mexico border.

The bid was heavily backed by the Biden administration.

American sales executive George Walther-Meade, 50, killed himself in San Diego on November 6 while awaiting trial for embezzlement 

Walther-Meade had been sacked by an engineering firm over accusations he bribed officials to secure international border contracts

Yet questions were raised over the contract after it was revealed Rapiscan had been hit with a hefty fine for failing to fulfil its obligations under a previous border contract in Mexico.

A spokesman for the Committee on Homeland Security told DailyMail.com in July that the revelations were 'troubling' in the midst of 'an unprecedented crisis raging at the Southwest border'.

Walther-Meade had pled not guilty to the charges against him, but co-defendant, Juan Gonzalez Ruiz, recently pled guilty to the conspiracy.

The case was not related to the Rapiscan contract. 

Fentanyl - a cheap synthetic opioid around fifty times more potent than heroin - typically originates in China before making its way to the US border, usually via the Mexico border.

Seizures of the drug, which is killing more than 1,000 Americans a week, have risen sharply in recent years.

But Washington has complained for decades about the lack of security infrastructure on the Mexican side of the border.

When the Mexican government expressed interest in installing modern scanning equipment on its border, US officials immediately presented Rapiscan as one of its three preferred contractors.

In May 2022, the US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar even threatened to withhold US cooperation with Mexico unless it awarded the tender to Rapiscan or one of two other US companies, when it appeared officials were leaning towards a Chinese bidder, according to leaked documents obtained by The Washington Post.

To bolster its bid, Rapiscan hired Walther-Meade in December 2021 because of 'his experience in the contracting process with the Mexican government', according to local media.

But the American had been sacked by rival firm Leidos just three weeks earlier after the firm accused him of 'providing benefits to government leaders or agents of Mexico' to land lucrative contracts, according to court records uncovered by DailyMail.com.

The allegations were made public after Walther-Meade sued Leidos for wrongful dismissal and his complaint claimed this was one of the false accusations made by his former employer.

Leidos then countersued their former vice president for embezzlement.

The US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar backed a bid by Rapiscan to secure a vital Mexico border contract to stop fentanyl flooding the country. Rapiscan hired Walther-Meade, who had business contacts in Latin American, in December 2021 to bolster its bid

When Rapiscan secured the contract in March, Ambassador Salazar tweeted his delight at the deal, saying it reinforced a commitment made between Presidents Biden and Obrador at their summit in Mexico City earlier in the year (pictured above)

Washington has complained for decades about the lack of security infrastructure on the Mexican side of the border

It has meant the seizure of drugs and other contraband has largely been carried out by US authorities after it has entered the country

Despite the clouds gathering over Rapsican's new hire, Walther-Meade's experience in the Latin American market seemingly paid off and on March 17 this year, the California-based firm won the $600million contract to install modern scanning equipment on its border.

The news came as great relief to Rapiscan, who had fired Walther-Meade just a week earlier following his arrest by the FBI in February.

The senior executive had been indicted by a federal grand jury in San Diego over allegations he and a co-conspirator embezzled $3million from Leidos.

There was no mention of the bribery accusations that allegedly prompted Leidos to fire him, but the indictment laid in the Southern District of California accused Walther-Meade of engaging a fake vendor to bill the firm for work that 'was never performed' before the pair used the 'fraudulently obtained' funds 'for their own personal use and benefit'.

When Rapiscan won the contact, Ambassador Salazar expressed his delight at the deal in a statement, in which he said the US was 'glad' Mexico had awarded the contract to Rapiscan, which would 'deepen our efforts to fight the trafficking of drugs, weapons and people'.

Rapiscan's previous $120million contract with the Mexican government expired in 2020 - a year when around 20,000 firearms were seized in Mexico, according to UN data.

It is estimated around 200,000 firearms are smuggled across the US-Mexico border every year.

Rapiscan was responsible for a large portion of the scanning equipment at this crucial entry point.

Separately, the firm was fined around $375,000 (7.5million pesos) for 'non-compliance with service levels' in 2021.

Documents seen by DailyMail.com outlining the penalty issued by the Tax Administration Service (SAT) of Mexico do not specify the reasons behind it.

But a separate SAT audit said the operation of 'Rapiscan non-intrusive inspection equipment' was discontinued because Rapiscan had not provided customs staff with training to use its equipment as required under its contract.

Ajay Vashishat, Vice President of OSI, said 'due diligence was carried out prior to [Walther-Meade's] hiring'.

He added: 'At the time, his past activities at Leidos were actively concealed by Mr. Walther-Meade, and held confidential by Leidos…

'Once we discovered Leidos' allegations against Mr. Walther-Meade, we placed him on leave, as we had nothing more to go on at that time than allegations and counter-allegations between himself and his former employer. Upon discovering his indictment, we initiated the process to terminate his employment, which shortly thereafter resulted in his formal separation from our company.'

He also said its previous contract with Mexico expired on 'the agreed expiration date' and 'all performance targets were met or exceeded'.

Christopher Ramey, Walther-Meade's attorney in his civil case against Leidos, previously told DailyMail.com the firm 'fabricated reasons for firing him'.

He added that Leidos 'has not produced evidence' to support their embezzlement claim against his client.

'There is also no evidence of any connection between Walther-Meade's termination from Leidos and his hiring at Rapiscan,' Ramey added.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pa3IpbCmmZmhe6S7ja6iaKaVrMBwrdGtoJyklWJ%2Bc4OUcm1vcV%2BIrq95o6KcoKddqK6tsdJmnq6qpWKxpq3DZn17gV2bsq%2FAwKewpWV9msWqr85mmaiqlJq%2Fb7TTpqM%3D