ORANGE COUNTY MAN ADMITS TAKING KICKBACKS,
CONCEALING PAYMENTS FROM I.R.S. AND HIS EMPLOYER

A Costa Mesa man pleaded guilty this morning to federal mail fraud and tax evasion charges, admitting that he took kickbacks from a company he hired to install equipment for his employer, Qwest Communications.

Jeffrie Lane Bryan, 54, who lived in the Central Coast city of Atascadero during the time of the criminal conduct, pleaded guilty to the two counts in federal court in Los Angeles.

Bryan, while serving as a contract manager for Qwest, selected Fiberco, Inc. to install fiber optic cable for Qwest on multiple construction jobs throughout California. The construction contracts were awarded to the Corona-based Fiberco during 1999 and 2000, when there was a telecommunications boom and high demand for fiber optic cable construction.

During this time, Bryan solicited more than $650,000 from Fiberco's chief executive officer, who gave Bryan cashier's checks in varying amounts. Bryan sent the checks to a bank account in Colorado and concealed the payments from Qwest.
Bryan also took affirmative steps to evade taxes on the kickbacks, including requesting that Fiberco's CEO provide him with a Form-1099 that substantially understated the payments.

In 2002, IRS-Criminal Investigation Division seized more than $200,000 that were proceeds from the sale of Bryan's residence in Atascadero.

Bryan was indicted by a federal grand jury in January.

Bryan is scheduled to be sentenced on November 13 by United States District Judge Edward Rafeedie. At the time of sentencing, Bryan faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

This case is the result of an investigation by IRS-Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation