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An Indian-origin man of Florida Bhaskar Patel has pleaded guilty on Monday in bribes and payoffs from contract seeking companies to work on energy-saving projects in the United States government buildings.

The 67-year-old was involved in wrongdoing when he served as a senior project manager for Massachusetts based Schneider Electric Building Americas.

In order to get awarded a contract under an energy saving project, Patel was accountable for acquiring bids from subcontractors and recommending for selecting the subcontractors.

He pleaded guilty in court in Rutland to two felony charges, each carrying maximum penalties of 10 years in prison. He remains on the loose on his personal recognizance pending a December 7 sentencing hearing.

Judge Geoffrey Crawford said federal probation officials would conduct a pre-sentence investigation before he formally hands down a sentence for Bhaskar Patel.

As part of a plea agreement, federal prosecutors filed a notice of forfeiture totaling $2,536,119 from Bhaskar Patel, VT Digger, a Vermont news portal, reported.

The plea agreement states that prosecutors have agreed to reduce the forfeiture amount to $1.75 million if Patel pays $950,000 on or before his sentencing.

He also faces fines of up to $5,072,238.38, or twice his ill-gotten gains.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Abigail Averbach, a prosecutor in the case, said charges against other individuals involved in the case are possible, though she declined to say who those people might be.

David Smith, a spokesman for Schneider Electric, said after the hearing that Bhaskar Patel was terminated as soon as the allegations of wrongdoing came to light.

According to court records, Bhaskar's plan of action was known when law enforcement received information that he had altered and falsified a bid document submitted to Schneider Electric by a Vermont subcontractor bidding for work on an energy savings project at the White River Junction Virginia facility.

By Sowmya Sangam