It was the University of Guam that discovered procurement issues with certain grants managed by Dr. Thomas Marler way back in February 2015.
Marler was a faculty member under the Western Pacific Tropical Research Center who also served as the principal investigator for those grants.
According to UOG, the university was the one which initiated contact with federal authorities to report these issues and cooperated fully throughout the federal investigation.
The university is now reviewing the allegations in the indictment and may take further action in accordance with its policies and procedures.
On Aug. 6, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), along with law enforcement partners from the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrested Marler on federal charges of conspiring a bid-rigging scheme to enrich himself and co-conspirator Jayanika Lawrence from federally funded grants administrated by the University of Guam.
A federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment, charging conspiracy to restrain trade, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.
FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge Eli S. Miranda said the FBI will continue to pursue fraud and corruption investigations and hold accountable all those who betray the public’s trust and confidence.
Marler was arrested at the A.B. Won Pat Guam International Airport. Lawrence, who resides in the state of Oregon, is scheduled to appear before the U.S. District Court of Guam.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, and Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
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