Brent R. Wilkes
| Cunningham scandal |
| A U.S. political scandal in which government contracts were obtained with bribes to Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham. |
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Brent Roger Wilkes (born May 21, 1954), an American entrepreneur, defense contractor, civic leader and philanthropist. Wilkes became well known for his involvement with the Duke Cunningham defense contracting scandal and was indicted for his involvement in this scandal on February 13, 2007. He was indicted on new charges which superseded the previous ones on May 10, 2007. Wilkes was convicted on all 13 counts on November 5, 2007. On March 27, 2008 the Court of Appeals ordered him released on bail pending appeal, finding in part "that the appeal raises a 'substantial question' of law or fact likely to result in reversal, a new trial or a sentence not including a term of prison". On January 6, 2009, after serving eleven months in federal custody, the last six months at Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island, Wilkes was released, pending appeal.
Wilkes grew up in a San Diego suburb, Chula Vista, and graduated from San Diego State University in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and having completed his course work for an MBA with a concentration in Taxation. He then became a CPA while working for Arthur Andersen & Co., an international public accounting firm, in San Diego. He subsequently joined Deloitte Haskins & Sells in their Washington D.C. practice office before leaving public accounting to become the president of a D.C. based real estate development company. Later, he became consultant for a Southern California software company that was seeking federal contracts for converting paper documents to digital ones. He was George W. Bush's finance co-chairman in California, and also involved in Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign for governor. But it was as a federal contractor that he became involved with the Duke Cunningham bribery scandal. Wilkes was then living in Poway, California. In March 2010, Wilkes won a World Series of Poker event at Harrah’s Rincon Casino in Valley Center, CA. He pocketed $10,090 as the champ in the two-day Texas Hold ’Em tournament. Sporting a beard and a new nickname, Brent "The Enigma" Wilkes now claims to be living in Coronado, CA.
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