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.
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.
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 a statement that it placed Gillespie on leave.
“”On November 10, 2025, Govini was notified of felony charges against Eric Gillespie. As soon as we learned of these charges, we took immediate action to place Mr. Gillespie on administrative leave. The company will fully cooperate with law enforcement in connection with their investigation. We acknowledge the severity of these charges and as a company will hold all our employees to the highest ethical standards. We stand steadfast in support of all victims of abuse of any kind,” Govini said in a statement to WTAE ABC 4 in Pittsburgh.
Emails to Govini seeking comment were not returned.
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.
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