Kansas subcontracting employee sentenced in 15-year kickback scheme
Report date: (original source date). Article publication date: .
Report an error or privacy concernSummary
The U.S. Department of Justice said Michael Clinesmith was sentenced to 29 months in prison after being convicted in October 2025 of conspiracy and four counts of wire fraud and honest services wire fraud. The case concerned subcontracts for nuclear weapons manufacturing projects at the Kansas City National Security Campus.
According to court documents and trial evidence, Clinesmith steered subcontracts to a contractor while concealing that he received more than $1.2 million in kickbacks and sharing internal bidding information. The DOJ said the contractor paid Clinesmith for performing some or all of the subcontracted work; no separate enforcement outcome for that contractor is stated.