Federal court awards $1.3 million in bribery case involving Alaska military contracts

By SUZANNE DOWNING

Sept. 19, 2026 – A federal bribery case involving construction contracts at Eielson Air Force Base and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson has produced a civil judgment of more than $1.3 million in damages and penalties against the former Air Force contracting official, the contractors involved, and their company.

The US Department of Justice said the judgment under the False Claims Act follows the criminal convictions of Brian Lowell Nash II, Ryan Dalbec and Dalbec’s wife, Riahnna Nadem. The government sought and was awarded triple damages, known as treble damages, along with civil penalties against all three and Best Choice Construction LLC.

Brian Lowell Nash II, then an enlisted Air Force contract specialist in his 30s assigned to the 673rd Contracting Squadron at JBER, agreed to accept more than $460,000 in bribes from Ryan Dalbec and his wife Raihana (also spelled Riahnna) Nadem, owners of Best Choice Construction LLC.

In return, Nash leaked confidential, non-public bidding information, including other contractors’ bids and the government’s internal cost estimates, on more than $8.25 million in Department of Defense construction contracts at JBER and Eielson.

That information helped Best Choice win several awards, including a roughly $6.85 million contract tied to F-35 facilities at Eielson, asbestos-abatement work, and roof repairs. Nash had received about $47,000 of the promised payments by the time the scheme was detected; the defendants also laundered funds through family members and third-party accounts.

An earlier DOJ account of the criminal case said Nash was sentenced to 30 months in prison. Dalbec received a 42-month sentence.

The new judgment is a separate civil action. The False Claims Act allows the United States to seek damages and penalties for fraudulent claims involving federal money.

“We will hold accountable any defense contractor who attempts to undermine fair competition and defraud the American taxpayer through bribery and corrupt practices,” US Attorney Michael Heyman said in the announcement.

The FBI and Air Force Office of Special Investigations investigated the criminal case. The Defense Criminal Investigative Service investigated the civil case.