Update: Am Samoa education official pleads guilty to bribery conspiracy

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The former director of the school bus division of the of American Samoa Department of Education has pled guilty to conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division of the US Justice Department in a report updated on Feb. 5, 2025, from Jan. 2011.

Gustav Nauer, a resident of American Samoa, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery before the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. As part of his guilty plea, Nauer admitted to participating in a scheme that began in late 2002 involving other American Samoa Department of Education employees as well as the owner and operator of a company that sold school bus parts to the American Samoa government.

As part of the scheme, Nauer and other government officials arranged to order "phantom" bus parts that were never received by the government, as well as bus parts at inflated prices, from the company.

In exchange, Nauer said he and other government officials were paid approximately $300,000 in bribes from January 2003 until October 2006.

Nauer faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge. A sentencing date has not been scheduled.

This case is being prosecuted by trial attorneys Timothy J. Kelly and Kathryn H. Albrecht of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Office of Inspector General for the U.S Department of the Interior, and the Office of Inspector General for the U.S Department of Education.

BACKGROUND

Gustav Nauer pled guilty in January 2011, to conspiring to commit bribery against a program receiving Federal funds.

The Dept. of Education Inspector General investigation with the Department of Interior Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed that between 2002 and 2006, Nauer authorized the American Samoan government to purchase "phantom" bus parts at inflated costs from another co-conspirator. The bus parts were never delivered or were ordered in excess of the parts actually needed for the buses owned by the American Samoa Department of Education. In exchange, Nauer and co-conspirators accepted bribes of approximately $300,000.

According to Samoa News reporting, co-conspirators were Paul Solofa and Oscar Mayer. The government said Nauer received about 50 payments from January 2003 to October 2006. He also testified for the government in other trials involving the incident.