Chesapeake woman pleads guilty to bribing government official in return for $1.37M contract

A Chesapeake woman pleaded guilty to bribing a government official in return for a contract valued at nearly $1.37 million.

Jennifer A. Strickland, 47, agreed to bribe a General Services Administration official to win federal construction contracts for her company, SDC Contracting LLC.

She is the president of the company, which contracted with the federal government to provide construction and renovation services at federal buildings throughout the Eastern District of Virginia, including the Lewis F. Powell, Jr. United States Courthouse in downtown Richmond — one of two buildings to survive the devastating 1865 fire marking the evacuation of the Confederate Army.

From July 2018 until December 2019, Strickland made cash payments to a GSA contracting official totaling $43,500 in return for the award of the contract, the Department of Justice said.

Strickland is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 12, and could face up to 15 years in prison, although actual sentences are usually less than the maximum permitted.

Dave Ress, 757-247-4535, dress@dailypress,com