A former manager at Vermeer Corporation faces charges for alleged bid-fixing during the construction of the organization’s new Eco Center following the July 2018 tornado.

Roger Bradford faces a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and faces trial that’s currently scheduled to begin on August 1st. Viorel Draghia, owner of the Virginia based Draghia Painting & Contracting, pleaded guilty to the charges filed this past spring and Bradford has pleaded not guilty, according to a report by the Des Moines Register.

Several Vermeer facilities were destroyed in the EF3 tornado that hit its campus on July 19th, 2018, including Vermeer’s Eco Center.

According to court records, Bradford was hired in January 2019 as Vermeer’s director of construction, and was in charge of reconstruction of the center. Vermeer confirms they fired Bradford in October 2019. According to prosecutors, Bradford sent Draghia confidential project information and recommended that the project’s general contractor hire Draghia.

Prosecutors say Bradford was also charged with attempted obstruction after he tried to convince Draghia to lie to law enforcement officials.

Vermeer Corporate Communications Director Liz Sporrer said the company discovered the alleged fraud during Bradford’s tenure.

“In 2019, Vermeer uncovered evidence of deliberate fraudulent activity by a former employee and contractor. We presented the findings of our internal investigation to the FBI, who performed their own independent investigation leading to these charges. While we will not comment further on a pending matter, we thank law enforcement for their work and appreciate the work of our internal team and partners in identifying and bringing these issues forward.”