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Govini founder charged with 4 felonies

Eric T. Gillespie, 57, of Pittsburgh, who founded Govini, allegedly used an online chat platform to attempt to solicit sexual contact with a pre-teenage girl.

Jason Miller@jmillerWFED

November 12, 2025 5:19 pm

2 min read

The founder and executive chairman of Govini, a provider of acquisition data and software to the government, has been arrested and charged with four felonies, including multiple counts of unlawful contact with a minor.

Eric T. Gillespie, 57, of Pittsburgh, allegedly used an online chat platform to attempt to solicit sexual contact with a pre-teenage girl.

Eric T. Gillespie, 57, is the founder of Govini and was charged with four felonies.

The Pennsylvania’s Attorneys General Office says at arraignment, a magisterial district judge denied Gillespie bail, citing flight risk and public safety concerns.

The attorneys general says one of their agents “posed as an adult in an online chat platform often utilized by offenders attempting to arrange meetings with children, and engaged in a conversation with Gillespie. Gillespie then made attempts to arrange a meeting with a pre-teenage girl (in Lebanon County).”

Govini said in an updated statement late on Wednesday that it had fired Gillespie.

“On November 12, 2025, the Govini Board of Directors terminated Eric Gillespie from the organization, including as a member of the Board, effective immediately. Mr. Gillespie stepped down from the role of CEO almost a decade ago and had no access to classified information,” a company spokesperson said. “Govini is an organization that has been built by over 250 people who share a profound commitment to America’s national security, including veterans, reservists, and people who have dedicated their lives to causes greater than themselves. The actions of one depraved individual should not in any way diminish the hard work of the broader team and their commitment to the security of the United States of America.”

Poplicus Inc., which does business as Govini, had 26 contracts with the government in fiscal 2025 worth about $52 million, according to the USASpending.gov platform. The vast majority of the awards came from the Defense Department, with two other smaller contracts coming from the departments of Commerce and Energy.

Govini’s main DoD customers include the Army, the Defense Information Systems Agency and the Navy.

Since 2021, Govini has won 107 awards worth more than $255 million.

The company said in October that it surpassed $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and secured a $150 million investment from Bain Capital.

Gillespie launched Govini in 2013 after launching Recovery.org back in the early days of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

If convicted, Gillespie would spend at a minimum seven years in jail and face up to $15,000 in fines. After serving time, he would have to register as a sex offender for at least 10 years under Pennsylvania law.