Prosecutors say CBP employee accepted $443,000 in kickbacks

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A local U.S. Customs and Border Protection employee accepted more than $443,000 in kickbacks from a Maryland businessman, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.

The employee — an “Information System Security Officer” in Pharr — steered contracts to Christopher “Mac” Cassity, a businessman from Glenwood, Maryland. In exchange, Cassity paid him more than $443,000.

Cassity pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud charge on Thursday.

His attorney, Gregg​​​​ Bernstein of Baltimore, Maryland, declined to comment.

A post from Christopher "Mac" Cassity on Mid Atlantic Social Media & Marketing's Facebook page.

Cassity owned Mid Atlantic Social Media & Marketing, which provided businesses with a wide array of marketing services.

“Being an entrepreneur is not easy,” Cassity wrote on the company’s Facebook page. “But it’s worth it because you’re the boss.”

Mid Atlantic Social Media & Marketing also did business as IVV Solutions, according to documents filed with the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. IVV is an acronym for independent verification and validation, a technical term for testing hardware and software.

At some point, Cassity met the CBP employee, who prosecutors described as “Public Official A.”

Public Official A lived in Mission and worked for CBP from about April 2011 to February 2023, according to Cassity’s plea agreement. He was an expert on access control systems, which allow CBP employees and contractors to enter government buildings.

They agreed that Public Official A would steer contracts to Cassity’s company, according to documents filed in the case, and Cassity would share the profits with Public Official A.

From July 2019 to September 2022, the government awarded five contracts related to access control systems. Public Official A pushed the contractors to pay IVV Solutions for independent verification and validation services.

The contractors paid $814,570 to IVV Solutions.

After he received the money, Cassity “made approximately fifty-eight (58) kickback payments totaling approximately $443,125 to Public Official A,” according to his plea agreement.

Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 10. Cassity faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.

Documents filed in the case don’t identify Public Official A by name. It’s unclear whether prosecutors charged him with a crime.