Ilya Zagaryuk, 40, of Damascus, Oregon, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit an offense against the United States by paying kickbacks. He owned a company that performed facilities repairs at dozens of U.S. Postal Service locations across Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and Washington.

According to court documents, between May 2022 and February 2024, Zagaryuk paid more than $465,000 to a co-conspirator who worked for a prime contractor on Postal Service projects. The payments rewarded the co-conspirator for directing additional work to Zagaryuk and his company. The two inflated contracting documents, including estimates and invoices, to include money for kickbacks that was not tied to legitimate repair costs.

Zagaryuk agreed to pay $465,347.75 in restitution to the U.S. Postal Service, jointly and severally with co-defendants. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. A federal judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General and the FBI Sacramento Field Office investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California are prosecuting it. The Department said the case is part of its Procurement Collusion Strike Force, established in 2019 to combat antitrust crimes and related fraud affecting government procurement and public funding.

The Justice Department also noted that people who voluntarily provide original information about antitrust or related offenses leading to at least $1 million in criminal fines or other recoveries may qualify for a whistleblower reward.