Contract Details
LEO Technologies, a company headed by Elliott Broidy, was awarded a $106 million contract last month from the Department of Justice. Broidy is listed as the founder and CEO of LEO. The company is based in Texas.
Broidy's Role
LEO's attorneys stated that Broidy sets the company's strategy but does not manage day-to-day operations. According to its website, the company monitors prisoners' phone calls, which it describes as "the world's largest concentration of criminally-minded activity – all on recorded lines, all legally accessible."
Artificial Intelligence in Prisons
The Bureau of Prisons awarded the contract to LEO Technologies. The company will use artificial intelligence to translate, transcribe, and monitor prison phone calls. LEO was one of six companies that responded to a solicitation for the contract.
From Pardon to Profit
On January 19, 2021, the day before Trump's first term ended, he pardoned Broidy, a former Republican National Committee official. Three months earlier, Broidy had pleaded guilty to trying to illegally lobby Trump and his administration.
Broidy's History
In October 2020, Broidy pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act. He took $9 million in payments from a foreign national to lobby Trump and his Justice Department to end a criminal case and push for the extradition of a Chinese businessman. Trump's Justice Department stated that Broidy agreed to lobby the President of the United States, the Attorney General, and other high-level officials.
Previous Convictions
In 2009, Broidy pleaded guilty in a fraud case after prosecutors said he paid almost $1 million to New York state officials to secure business with the state's pension fund. These payoffs included luxury trips to Israel and Italy, and a secret $300,000 investment in a low-budget movie called Chooch. A judge reduced Broidy's felony conviction to a misdemeanor of attempting to reward official misconduct in 2012.
Denials of Influence
LEO's statement said that Broidy played no role in the competitive bidding process or its award. The Bureau of Prisons stated there is no evidence that Broidy's past links to Trump helped earn his company the contract. However, the contract award comes less than five years after Trump pardoned Broidy, who had pleaded guilty to illegally lobbying Trump's administration.
The sources also report that Broidy's company, LEO Technologies, previously won awards in state and local prison systems before this federal contract.
The sources also report that Elliott Broidy asked President Trump to play golf with Najib Razak, Malaysia’s prime minister, though the game did not occur.