2 Florida Contractors Charged With Bribing Army Official to Secure Military Technology Contracts

Federal prosecutors say Leonard Pick and Brian Kent funneled more than $1.25 million to a government employee while inflating invoices to hide the payments.

The Department of Justice in Washington on March 11, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

Two Florida defense industry veterans were arrested on May 20 on federal charges alleging they bribed a U.S. Army employee and defrauded the government to secure military technology contracts at a Pacific innovation hub in Hawaii.

Leonard Pick, 62, of Palm Beach Shores, and Brian Kent, 59, of Tampa, allegedly orchestrated a bribery and major fraud conspiracy that corrupted the competitive procurement process for a Department of War technology innovation lab in the Pacific, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.