A hacker participates in an offline hacking competition named Hackathon 2022, in Kolkata on July 29, 2022. The event, the first of its kind in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, was organised by Kolkata Police where 412 hackers competed with each other to complete the tasks, reported the organisers. (Photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Los Angeles, California – A former FBI electronics technician and his sister have admitted to orchestrating a years-long scheme to defraud the United States government by rigging low-bid contracts for electronics equipment—an act federal prosecutors are classifying as a conspiracy against the United States.
Jeffrey Spencer, 51, of Canyon Country, worked inside the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. His position gave him access not just to sensitive equipment, but to the procurement process itself—a system meant to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent fairly and competitively. Instead, according to court documents filed this week, Spencer used that position to funnel federal contracts to his sister, Christy Evereklian, 43, of Temecula.
For five years, beginning in 2015, Spencer and Evereklian worked together to subvert the FBI’s bidding process. Spencer would solicit bids for contracts, and Evereklian—posing as multiple vendors—would submit what appeared to be competitive offers. But behind the scenes, they had already agreed which of her shell companies would “win” the bid.
To mask her involvement, Evereklian used the names of family members and a random number generator to create the illusion of independent vendors. She was, in effect, bidding against herself—and the FBI had no idea.
By the time the scheme ended in 2020, Evereklian’s companies had secured at least $350,000 in federal contracts, all under the pretense of fair competition.
Spencer and Evereklian have both agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States, a felony offense that carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. They are expected to formally enter their pleas in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles in the coming weeks.
The charge—conspiracy against the United States—is not one applied lightly. Though often associated with sweeping criminal enterprises or national security threats, the statute also applies when individuals knowingly obstruct or undermine federal functions, as prosecutors argue Spencer and Evereklian did.
What makes the case particularly striking is where it occurred—inside the FBI. The very institution tasked with investigating federal crimes and upholding the rule of law became the unknowing victim of a scheme orchestrated from within.
That Spencer, a government employee entrusted with access to federal funds, believed he could pull off such a scheme for five years raises sobering questions about internal oversight. And while the amount—$350,000—may seem small by federal contracting standards, the crime cuts to the heart of public trust in institutions charged with national integrity.
Their sentencing hearings have not yet been scheduled.
