Stephen E. Vogt Named Special Agent in Charge of Baltimore Division

Director Robert S. Mueller, III has named Stephen E. Vogt special agent in charge of the FBI’s Baltimore Division. Mr. Vogt most recently served as the legal attaché in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Mr. Vogt began his career as a special agent with the FBI in August 1989. He first reported to the Cleveland Division, where he investigated white-collar crime, public corruption, organized crime, and drug cases and was also a member of the SWAT team. While there, he received the FBI Director’s Award and the Attorney General’s Award for his work on a law enforcement corruption investigation. In 1999, Mr. Vogt was promoted to supervisory special agent of a drug task force/High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Group (HIDTA) and was named the 2004 HIDTA Task Force Commander of the Year by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

In 2005, Mr. Vogt was promoted to team leader in the Inspection Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. In this capacity, he managed teams of supervisors over a 12-month period as they conducted on-site inspections of field offices throughout the United States.

Mr. Vogt reported to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq in 2006, where he served as an assistant legal attaché and investigated kidnappings, hostage matters, and general criminal activity.

In 2007, Mr. Vogt was promoted to an assistant special agent in charge of the Washington Field Office. He oversaw the cyber, gang/criminal enterprise, organized crime, and violent crime programs. During this time, he also worked with the Baltimore Division to establish a Cross Border Task Force in Prince George’s County, Maryland, aimed at combating violent gangs in the county.

Mr. Vogt reported to Kabul, Afghanistan as legal attaché in 2010. In this capacity, he was responsible for all FBI personnel and operations throughout the country.

Mr. Vogt earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from Washington & Lee University and a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Baltimore. He is married and has three children.

Former Civilian Contractor Sentenced to 24 Months in Prison for Role in Scheme to Steal and Sell Military Equipment in Iraq

A former U.S. civilian contractor was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for conspiring to steal military generators in Iraq and selling them on the black market, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Thomas G. Walker for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

 David John Welch, 36, of Hope Mills, N.C., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge W. Earl Britt in the Eastern District of North Carolina.   Welch was also sentenced to three years of supervised release following his prison term and was ordered to pay $160,000 in restitution to the Department of Defense.  Welch pleaded guilty on April 2, 2012, to a criminal information charging him with conspiracy to steal property under the control of a government contractor.

 According to court documents and information presented at his plea hearing, Welch was the operations and maintenance manager of a U.S. government contractor on Victory Base Complex in Baghdad.  In this capacity, Welch had the ability to influence the distribution and movement of military equipment as well as U.S. government equipment.  In addition, Welch was in charge of overseeing the movement of generators from the compound to the Defense Reutilization & Marketing Office (DRMO).  In October 2011, Welch and a co-conspirator entered into a scheme to steal and later sell approximately 38 generators on the black market in Iraq to unknown co-conspirators by diverting these generators from the DRMO to an undisclosed location off-base in Iraq.   After the generators were stolen from the compound, Welch’s co-conspirator provided him with four stacks of $100 bills, totaling approximately $38,600.

 This case is being prosecuted by Special Trial Attorney Mark Grider of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, on detail from Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Banumathi Rangarajan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.  The case is being investigated by the FBI, SIGIR and the Major Procurement Fraud Unit of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command.

Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison for Bribery Related to Contracting in Support of Iraq War

Defendant Accepted $250,000 in Bribes Related to Bottled Water Contracts in Kuwait

WASHINGTON – A retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army was sentenced yesterday to 41 months in prison for engaging in bribery related to his work as a contracting officer’s representative in Kuwait from 2004 to 2006, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

 Derrick L. Shoemake, 50, of Moreno Valley, Calif., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Dolly M. Gee in the Central District of California.  In addition to his prison term, Shoemake was sentenced to two years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $181,900 in restitution and forfeit $68,100. 

 Shoemake pleaded guilty in June 2011 to two counts of bribery.  According to court documents, Shoemake was deployed to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, as a contracting officer’s representative in charge of coordinating and accepting delivery of bottled water in support of our troops in Iraq.  While serving in Kuwait, Shoemake agreed to assist a contractor with his delivery of bottled water.  In return, the contractor paid Shoemake a total of approximately $215,000, most of which was delivered to Shoemake’s designee in Los Angeles.  Shoemake received an additional $35,000 from a second contractor for his perceived influence over the award of bottled water contracts in Afghanistan.  All told, Shoemake admitted receiving approximately $250,000 from these two government contractors in 2005 and 2006.

 This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Richard B. Evans of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Trial Attorney Mark W. Pletcher of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.  The case is being investigated by the Army Criminal Investigations Division, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the FBI, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security and members of the National Procurement Fraud Task Force and the International Contract Corruption Task Force (ICCTF).

Former Officers of New Mexico-Based Defense Contractor Charged in Fraud and Money Laundering Schemes Related to Rebuilding Efforts in Iraq

ALBUQUERQUE—A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging three former officers of a New Mexico-based defense contractor and four foreign nationals for their alleged roles in a fraud and money laundering scheme involving defense contracts for wartime rebuilding projects in Iraq, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales.

The 91-count indictment, which was returned on February 28, 2012 in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was publicly posted this morning. The indictment charges Neal Kasper, 62, of Cibolo, Texas; Bradley G. Christiansen, 46, of Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Tiffany White, 45, also of Cibolo, Texas; with conspiracy to defraud the United States of more than $5 million through wire fraud. Ramzi Snobar and Yacoub Snobar, both citizens of Jordan; Mustapha Ahmad, a dual citizen of Lebanon and Great Britain; and Ali Al Aridhi, a citizen of Iraq (collectively, the Foreign Nationals), also are charged with participating in the wire fraud conspiracy. The seven defendants also are charged with an aggregate of 74 substantive wire fraud offenses. In addition, Bradley Christiansen and Ahmad are charged with offering and receiving illegal kickbacks. The indictment also charges Kasper, White, Bradley Christiansen, and his wife, Sara Christiansen, 46, of Albuquerque, with conspiracy to launder money and with 11 substantive money laundering offenses, and Bradley Christiansen with three counts of income tax evasion.

The American defendants are scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque at 9:30 a.m. on March 15, 2012 for arraignment on the indictment. The whereabouts of the Foreign Nationals is not currently known. The United States will seek to locate the Foreign Nationals and will initiate extradition proceedings if they are located.

According to the indictment, during the Iraqi war and continuing through 2011, the United States funded numerous construction and rebuilding projects in Iraq and Jordan, including contracts administered by the United States Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment (AFCEE). Laguna Construction Company, Inc. (LCC), a minority disadvantaged business wholly owned by the Pueblo of Laguna, a Native American Indian Tribe located in New Mexico, successfully bid and was awarded multiple contracts, including AFCEE contracts, for wartime reconstruction and rebuilding projects in Iraq and Jordan. From 2003 through 2009, LCC administered more than $350 million of U.S. awarded Iraqi and Jordanian reconstruction contracts under a cost plus basis pursuant to which LCC received a percentage of the total contract awarded as compensation.

The indictment alleges that, as a prime contractor, LCC was required, to the greatest extent possible, to award subcontracts to foreign companies by generating requests for proposals and soliciting independent subcontract bids from qualified foreign companies. All subcontract bids were required to be independently prepared by the subcontractors without collusion from LCC, and LCC was required objectively to evaluate the bids and to award the subcontracts to the lowest qualified bidders. LCC and its personnel were prohibited from accepting anything of value, whether gifts, bribes, or kickbacks, from the bidders.

According to the indictment, at the time of the events alleged in the indictment, Kasper, Bradley Christiansen, and White were officers and employees of LCC, but not members of the Pueblo of Laguna. From January 2004 through February 2009, Kasper, Bradley Christiansen, and White allegedly colluded with the Foreign Nationals to defraud the United States of more than $5 million through the following unlawful scheme:

■The Foreign Nationals allegedly offered kickbacks to Kasper and Bradley Christiansen for the award of LCC subcontracts in Iraq.

■Kasper and Bradley Christiansen allegedly fraudulently eliminated bids submitted by foreign companies that were unwilling to pay kickbacks for the award of LCC subcontracts, and awarded the subcontracts to companies controlled by the Foreign Nationals.

■When preparing invoices, the Foreign Nationals allegedly overstated the actual costs incurred on LCC subcontracts in order to obtain excess funds to pay kickbacks.

■Kasper and Bradley Christiansen allegedly approved payment on invoices submitted by the Foreign Nationals that falsely overcharged the United States for costs not incurred.

■The Foreign Nationals allegedly paid kickbacks in the form of wire transfers of funds and the delivery of property to Kasper, Bradley Christiansen, and White in return for the award of LCC subcontracts in Iraq.

The indictment further alleges that, in addition to receiving the monetary kickbacks, in January 2008, Bradley Christiansen also received a 1967 Ford Shelby GT500D valued at $290,000 from Ahmad for facilitating the award of LCC subcontracts to Ahmad’s companies.

According to the indictment, from January 2004 through February 2009, Kasper, White, and Bradley and Sara Christianson conspired to launder the illegal kickbacks they received from the Foreign Nationals to conceal the unlawful nature of the proceeds. The indictment alleges that Kasper, White, and the Christiansens attempted to conceal the nature of the illegal kickbacks by having funds wire-transferred into the bank accounts of relatives and companies controlled by the defendants; by accepting kickbacks in the form of personal property, including automobiles and cash; by using the kickbacks to acquire goods and to remodel residential real property.

The indictment also seeks forfeiture of any proceeds and property involved in the unlawful conduct charged from Kasper, Bradley and Sara Christiansen, and White, if convicted, and a money judgment in the amount of $5,257,067, which represents the loss allegedly incurred by the United States as a result of the criminal conduct charged in the indictment. During the course of the four-year investigation, the United States seized currency and assets valued at approximately $1,586,634.84 from Kasper, Bradley Christiansen, White, and others pursuant to court-authorized seizure warrants. To date, the United States successfully has obtained forfeiture of currency and assets valued at approximately $1,473,849.60 through court proceedings.

“The indictment alleges that the defendants flagrantly enriched themselves at the expense of the Iraqi people—the very people they were there to help—and American taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney Gonzales. “These charges highlight the federal government’s continuing resolve to investigate and prosecute suspected bribery, fraud and money laundering involving Iraq reconstruction funds. The message here is simple: stealing from our government is just as intolerable whether done here or abroad. I commend the dedicated team of agents, investigators, and prosecutors who are responsible for making sure that the crimes alleged in the indictment will be prosecuted, and for their continuing efforts to recoup the millions of dollars lost to the United States as a result of the defendants’ alleged criminal conduct.”

“The indictments in this investigation were the result of a highly successful joint effort by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) and our law enforcement partners from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations Division, and the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction,” said Janice M. Flores, Special Agent in Charge of the DCIS Southwest Field Office. “Fraud and corruption in military contracting not only takes away precious dollars necessary for the dedicated American warfighter, but it undermines the confidence of the American public who demand a military procurement system that spends their tax dollars wisely and responsibly. This investigation should serve as a warning for those intent on defrauding the U.S. military and American public that law enforcement will pursue these crimes relentlessly.”

Carol K.O. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Albuquerque Office said, “U.S. contractors working abroad have an obligation to be good stewards of our tax dollars and to provide a good example of ethical business practices. This corporate duty is especially critical in Iraq, where a great deal of sacrifice was made by both Americans and Iraqis to create a partnership that is rebuilding that war-torn country. The indicted individuals are accused of depriving Iraqi companies of much needed work and U.S. taxpayers of the value of millions of dollars of their money. I am proud of the hard work and dedication of the FBI special agents involved in this case, as well as the assistance provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations Division, Defense Criminal Investigative Service of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of the Inspector General, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, and the Defense Contract Audit Agency. Rooting out fraud, whether it be in New Mexico or Iraq, requires teamwork, intelligence-sharing among agencies, and letting the public know how they can help. The FBI is committed to expanding our current partnerships within law enforcement and the financial services sector to aggressively go after those individuals who would manipulate the system to cheat our citizens as well as our allies overseas.”

“The investigation leading to today’s indictment exemplifies a true team effort involving numerous federal agencies,” said Dawn Mertz, Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Office of IRS Criminal Investigation. “Our coordinated investigative expertise in money laundering and tax fraud has unraveled this complex international conspiracy which included numerous defendants from the United States and foreign countries.”

SIGIR’s Inspector General, Stuart W. Bowen, Jr., stated, “Those participants in the Iraqi rebuilding program who defrauded the U.S. taxpayers and cheated the Iraqi people by their egregious misconduct must and will pay for their crimes. These latest charges, which arise from allegations of reprehensible financial abuse, indicate once again that SIGIR and its investigative partners continue to pursue a broad variety criminal cases stemming from gross malfeasance committed while carrying out stabilization and reconstruction projects in Iraq.”

The maximum penalty for the wire fraud conspiracy and each wire fraud charge is 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross loss sustained as a result of the offense. The maximum penalty for receiving a kickback is 10 years of prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for money laundering conspiracy and each money laundering charge is 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the amount of the criminally derived property involved in the transaction. The maximum penalty for tax evasion is five years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paula G. Burnett, the Criminal Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and was investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations Division, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, and the Defense Contract Audit Agency.

An indictment is merely an allegation and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Former Congressman Sentenced for Obstructing Justice, Acting as Unregistered Foreign Agent

IARA Officials Also Sentenced for Transferring More Than $1 Million to Iraq

KANSAS CITY, MO—Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former congressman was sentenced in federal court today for obstruction of justice and for acting as an unregistered foreign agent, related to his work for an Islamic charity with ties to international terrorism. Several officials and employees of that charity, the now-defunct Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA) formerly headquartered in Columbia, Mo., were also sentenced in federal court today.

“A Missouri charity secretly funneled more than a million dollars to Iraq in violation of United States economic sanctions,” Phillips said. “IARA then hired a former congressman to lobby the government on its behalf after it was listed as a specially designated global terrorist organization due to the support its international offices provided to Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda, and the Taliban. They tried to cover up a $75,000 payment by lying to federal agents and prosecutors, but today they are being held accountable for their actions.”

Mark Deli Siljander, 60, of Great Falls, Va., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nanette K. Laughrey to one year and one day in federal prison without parole. Siljander was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan and was a U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations General Assembly. Siljander operated a Washington, D.C. consulting business called Global Strategies, Inc.

Several officials and employees of IARA were also sentenced in federal court today. IARA served as the U.S. office of an international organization headquartered in Khartoum, Sudan. IARA was closed in October 2004, after being identified by the U.S. Treasury Department as a specially designated global terrorist organization.

IARA Executive Director Mubarak Hamed, 55, of Columbia, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Sudan, was sentenced to four years and 10 months in federal prison without parole. IARA fundraiser Abdel Azim El-Siddig, 55, of Chicago, Ill., was sentenced to two years of probation.

IARA board member Ali Mohamed Bagegni, 57, a native of Libya who is a naturalized U.S. citizen and former resident of Columbia, and IARA fundraiser Ahmad Mustafa, 59, of Columbia, a citizen of Iraq and a lawful permanent resident alien, were each sentenced to six months of probation. Federal prosecutors asked the court to give Bagegni and Mustafa credit for their substantial assistance to the government in the investigation and prosecution of the case.

Special Agent in Charge Brian Truchon of the FBI stated, “The sentencing of these individuals signifies the FBI’s long-term commitment to prevent the compromise of national security caused by misappropriation of government funds and charitable donations and their use for illegal purposes and in violation of federal economic sanctions.”

“I wish to acknowledge the outstanding work of the investigators and prosecutors involved with this case,” said Michael G. Carroll, the Acting Inspector General for USAID. “We remain committed to hold individuals accountable who violate U.S. laws by supporting international terrorist organizations. I sincerely hope that this will serve as a clear warning. We will continue to bring forth all of the necessary resources of the U.S. government to identify and prosecute violators with terrorist affiliations.”

“IRS CI plays a significant role in the government’s counter-terrorism efforts,” said Stephen Boyd, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation. “Our primary focus is to attack the financial infrastructure of terrorism, its organized criminal activities, and those engaged in fundraising activities to support terrorism, especially if tax exempt organizations are being used. We are pleased with the successful resolution of this investigation due to the cooperative efforts of our law enforcement partners.”

Hamed pleaded guilty on June 25, 2010, to conspiring to illegally transfer more than $1 million to Iraq in violation of federal sanctions, and to obstructing the administration of the laws governing tax‑exempt charities.

Hamed used IARA to solicit charitable contributions throughout the United States, taking in between $1 million and $3 million in contributions annually from 1991 to 2003, and then illegally transferred funds to Iraq with the assistance of a Jordanian identified by the U.S. Treasury Department as a specially designated global terrorist. Hamed also impaired and impeded the administration of the Internal Revenue laws by misusing IARA’s tax‑exempt status, providing false information to the IRS, and lying to federal agents.

Hamed and El‑Siddig hired Siljander in 2004 to lobby for IARA’s removal from a U.S. Senate Finance Committee list of charities suspected of funding international terrorism, and its reinstatement as an approved government contractor. IARA lost its status as an approved government contractor in 1999, when the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) terminated grants for two relief projects in Mali, Africa. USAID informed the organization that the grants were not in the national security interest of the United States.

Siljander, Hamed and El‑Siddig agreed with each other to conceal Siljander’s efforts on IARA’s behalf. In order to do so, Siljander instructed Hamed and El‑Siddig to transfer $75,000 of IARA’s funds to him by funneling them through nonprofit entities. El-Siddig carried at least three checks issued to Siljander’s charities from Chicago to Washington, D.C., and gave them to Siljander.

In exchange for the payments, during the summer of 2004, Siljander acted as an agent for IARA by contacting persons at the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, USAID, the Department of Justice, and the Department of the Army, in an effort to have IARA removed from the USAID list of debarred entities, and to remove IARA from the Senate Finance Committee’s list of charities suspected of funding terrorism. Federal law requires anyone who serves as an agent of a foreign entity, including an organization, to register with the U.S. Attorney General.

Siljander admitted that in two separate interviews he repeatedly lied to FBI agents and prosecutors acting on behalf of a federal grand jury. Siljander obstructed justice by falsely denying that he was hired to advocate for IARA, and by falsely claiming that the payments from IARA were charitable donations intended to assist him in writing a book about bridging the gap between Islam and Christianity.

Siljander pleaded guilty on July 7, 2010, to obstruction of justice and acting as an unregistered foreign agent.

El-Siddig pleaded guilty on July 7, 2010, to conspiring to hire Siljander to lobby for IARA’s removal from a Senate Finance Committee list of charities suspected of having terrorist ties, while concealing this advocacy and not registering with the proper authorities.

Mustafa was a fundraiser for IARA from 1996 until it was closed in 2004, but at the time he worked for the organization he was unaware it had no permission to send funds to Iraq. Mustafa pleaded guilty on Dec. 17, 2009, to illegally transferring funds to a family member in Iraq in violation of federal sanctions.

Bagegni pleaded guilty on April 6, 2010, to his role in the conspiracy to illegally transfer funds to Iraq in violation of federal sanctions.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony P. Gonzalez, Steven M. Mohlhenrich, Dan Stewart and Brian Casey from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri, and Trial Attorney Paul G. Casey from the National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. The case was investigated by the FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation and U.S. Agency for International Development, Office of the Inspector General.

Former Army Major Sentenced to Prison in Bribery and Money Laundering Scheme Related to DOD Contracts in Support of Iraq War

To Date, 17 Individuals Have Pleaded Guilty or Been Convicted at Trial in Ongoing Corruption Investigation

WASHINGTON – Eddie Pressley, 41, a former U.S. Army contracting official, was sentenced in Birmingham, Ala., for his participation in a bribery and money laundering scheme related to bribes paid for contracts awarded in support of the Iraq war, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

 U.S. District Judge Virginia Emerson Hopkins sentenced Eddie Pressley late yesterday to 144 months in prison and ordered him to serve three years of supervised release following the prison term. The court said it would also require Pressley to forfeit $21 million as well as real estate and several automobiles.

 “Mr. Pressley participated in a wide-ranging scheme to steer U.S. Army contracts to particular providers in exchange for personal, illegal profit,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “Taking in nearly $3 million, he enlisted his wife to help him conceal the nature of his bribes and created phony paperwork to keep the scheme going. This sentence sends the message loud and clear that we will not tolerate corruption of any kind, and are determined to hold corrupt officials accountable.”

  “This contracting scheme was driven by greed and is in no way representative of the vast majority of public officials and government contractors who work hard to serve our military,” said James McJunkin, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. “The FBI will continue to investigate contracting fraud which deprives the U.S. government of taxpayer dollars, regardless of where it occurs.”

  “I am pleased to see a perpetrator of criminal activity in Iraq justly sentenced,” said Stuart W. Bowen Jr., Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR).   “This individual sought to enrich himself at the expense of U.S. taxpayers. SIGIR’s investigations team will continue to pursue criminals operating in Iraq and bring them to justice.”

 “This sentence sends a clear message of deterrence to anyone contemplating such an egregious breach of public trust.  It is not a matter of if you will be caught, but a matter of when,” said James K. Podolak, director of Army CID’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit (MPFU). “The outcome of this investigation is yet another testament to the teamwork among the special agents of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command's MPFU and our fellow federal law enforcement agencies.”

 “This sentencing represents the seriousness with which the government will pursue corruption among its ranks,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert E. Craig for the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.  “The Defense Criminal Investigative Service stands with our service members as they deploy throughout the world and will root out shameless bribery schemes such as this one perpetrated by Mr. Pressley.  DCIS continues to work alongside our investigative partners at Army CID, SIGIR, FBI, IRS-CI, and Public Integrity to jointly bring these matters to justice.”

 Eddie Pressley, and his wife Eurica Pressley, were found guilty at trial on March 1, 2011, of one count of bribery, one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, eight counts of honest services fraud, one count of money laundering conspiracy and 11 counts of engaging in monetary transactions with criminal proceeds. A sentencing date for Eurica Pressley has not yet been scheduled by the court.

 The case against the Pressleys arose from a corruption probe focusing on Camp Arifjan, a U.S. military base in Kuwait. As a result of this investigation, 17 individuals, including the Pressleys, have pleaded guilty or been found guilty at trial for their roles in the scheme.

 Evidence presented at trial showed that Eddie Pressley took various actions to benefit certain contractors who paid him bribes, including Terry Hall. Pressley served as a U.S. Army contracting official at Camp Arifjan between 2004 and 2005. From spring 2004 through fall 2007, Hall operated and had an interest in several companies, including Freedom Consulting and Catering Co. and Total Government Allegiance. In February 2005, Eddie Pressley arranged for Hall to obtain a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) to deliver goods and services to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and its components in Kuwait and elsewhere.

 A BPA is a type of contract by which the DoD agrees to pay a contractor a specified price for a particular good or service. Based on a BPA, the DoD orders the supplies on an as-needed basis. The contractor is then obligated to deliver the supplies ordered at the price agreed upon in the BPA. The term for such an order by the DoD is a “call.”

 According to Hall’s testimony and other evidence presented at trial, Pressley demanded a $50,000 bribe before he would issue bottled water calls to Hall. Hall testified that in April 2005, he and his associates arranged for Pressley to receive the money in a bank account established in the name of a shell company, EGP Business Solutions Inc.

 Hall’s testimony and other evidence at trial showed that soon after the $50,000 bribe was paid, Pressley and John Cockerham, another U.S. Army contracting official, increased the bribe demand to $1.6 million, which consisted of $800,000 for Pressley and $800,000 for Cockerham.  After Hall and others agreed to pay the money, Pressley and Cockerham took various official acts to benefit Hall, including, among other things, issuing calls for bottled water and fencing, arranging for Hall to receive a fence contract and modifying Hall’s BPA to remove the upper limit of the money Hall could receive from the DoD under the bottled water BPA.

 Evidence at trial also showed that Eddie Pressley enlisted the help of his wife to receive the bribes. On March 9, 2005, he sent his wife an email in which he told her, among other things: “You will be getting some paperwork with your maiden name on it”; “I need you to sign it and mail to whatevery (sic) address on it”; “I am doing some consulting”; and “Of course I am not going to turn down any money, but I can’t have anyone paying me in my name because I am in the military so I had them put everything in your maiden name.”

 According to evidence presented at trial, Eurica Pressley traveled to Dubai in May 2005 and to the Cayman Islands in June 2005 to open bank accounts to receive the bribe money. She also took control of the U.S.-based account in the name of EGP Business Solutions Inc. A law enforcement agent testified at the trial about various false and misleading statements Eurica Pressley made to him during a voluntary interview at her home, including her denial that she had any foreign bank accounts. In addition, the evidence presented at trial demonstrated that the Pressleys, Hall and others attempted to conceal the true nature of their corrupt scheme by having Eurica Pressley execute bogus “consulting agreements.” They also prepared false invoices that were designed to justify the bribe payments as payment for non-existent “consulting services.”

 Bank statements and wire transfer reports demonstrated that, in total, the Pressleys received approximately $2.9 million in bribe payments, approximately $1.6 million of which consisted of payments from other contractors that Hall facilitated for Eddie Pressley. Evidence presented at trial showed that the Pressleys used the money to purchase real estate, expensive automobiles and home decorating services, among other things.

 Former U.S. Army Major James Momon also testified at trial that Eddie Pressley and Cockerham recruited him to join the bribe scheme and that he took various official acts to receive bribes from some of the same contractors who paid Pressley and Cockerham, including Hall. Additionally, he testified that Pressley told him that if they got caught they would spend “six years in jail” and that Cockerham and Pressley warned him to be careful.

 On Jan. 31, 2008, Cockerham pleaded guilty to participating in a bribery and money laundering scheme at Camp Arifjan. He was sentenced on Dec. 2, 2009, to 210 months in prison and ordered to pay $9.6 million in restitution.

 On Feb. 18, 2010, Hall pleaded guilty to bribery conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy and agreed to forfeit $15.7 million to the U.S. government in connection with his payment of more than $3 million in bribes to Cockerham, Eddie Pressley, Momon and Christopher Murray.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 23, 2012. 

On Aug. 13, 2009, Momon pleaded guilty to receiving approximately $1.6 million in bribes and agreed to pay $5.7 million in restitution. Momon’s sentencing has not yet been scheduled. On Jan. 8, 2009, Murray pleaded guilty to charges of bribery and making a false statement. He was sentenced on Dec. 17, 2009, to 57 months in prison and ordered to pay $245,000 in restitution.

 The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Peter C. Sprung and Edward J. Loya, Jr. of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. Assistance was also provided by the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs. The cases are being investigated by the Army CID, DCIS, ICE, FBI, IRS-CI, SIGIR and the International Contract Corruption Task Force (ICCTF). The ICCTF is a joint law enforcement agency task force that seeks to detect, investigate and dismantle corruption and contract fraud resulting from U.S. Overseas Contingency Operations worldwide, including in Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq.