WASHINGTON - A former captain in the
U.S. Army pleaded guilty today to one count of theft of government property for
stealing $48,000 from a safe at Camp Speicher, Iraq, announced Assistant
Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
Nicole E. Luvera, 29, of Newnan, Ga., pleaded
guilty today before U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg in Atlanta to a criminal
information charging her with one count of theft of government property.
According
to the court documents filed in this case, from July 2007 to September 2008,
Luvera was the deputy disbursing officer on Camp Speicher in Iraq. Luvera was responsible for daily financial
management and accounting of all money kept at Camp Speicher for the payment of
obligations of the United States. In
this capacity, Luvera had access to the vault and safes inside the vault in
which all the money at Camp Speicher was kept.
According to statements made at the plea hearing, Luvera admitted she
knowingly and unlawfully stole and converted to her use and the use of others
$8,000 not reflected in the official accounting record. Luvera also admitted that on a subsequent
occasion, she devised an illegal mechanism to steal and convert another
approximately $40,000 from the safe at Camp Speicher by fraudulently creating
records to explain the absence of the money.
Luvera faces up to 10 years in prison and a
fine of $250,000. In addition, Luvera
has agreed to pay $48,000 in restitution to the U.S. Department of
Defense. Sentencing is scheduled for
Aug. 10, 2012.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney
Mark W. Pletcher of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Trial
Attorney Richard B. Evans of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section. The case is being investigated by the Army
Criminal Investigation Division, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service,
the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction and other members of the
International Contract Corruption Task Force.
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