U.S. ARMY MASTER SGT. PLEADS GUILTY TO TAKING BRIBES IN IRAQ

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
U.S. Army Master Sergeant Pleads Guilty to Defrauding U.S. Government

WASHINGTON – A U.S. Army master sergeant pleaded guilty today to accepting thousands of dollars in gratuities from contractors during his deployment to Iraq as a field ordering officer at a forward operating base in Iraq, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina William N. Nettles.

Julio Soto Jr., 52, of Columbus, Ga., pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Chief Judge Margaret B. Seymour in the District of South Carolina to a criminal information charging him with one count of conspiracy to accept illegal gratuities.

According to court documents, Soto was a master sergeant in the U.S. Army, deployed to Forward Operating Base (FOB) Hammer in Iraq, as a field ordering officer (FOO), a public official. FOO funds are used to purchase miscellaneous items and supplies such as paint, lumber and plywood from local vendors. It is a violation of federal law for field ordering officers to accept gratuities from contractors dependent upon them for contracts.

In or about March 2007 through October 2008, Soto, along with an alleged U.S. Army co-conspirator, was involved with the construction of a government building at FOB Hammer by local Iraqi contractors. Soto and his alleged co-conspirator unlawfully sought, received and accepted illegal gratuities for helping Iraqi contractors gain U.S. government contracts, and then purchased U.S. Postal money orders with the illegal proceeds and mailed them back to the United States.

At sentencing, Soto faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or twice the pecuniary gain or loss, and up to three years of supervised release. As part of his plea agreement, Soto agreed to pay $62,542 plus interest in restitution to the United States.

This case is being prosecuted by Special Trial Attorney Mark Grider of the Justice Department Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, on detail from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), and by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dean A. Eichelberger of the District of South Carolina. The case is being investigated by SIGIR, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Major Procurement Fraud Unit of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command.

TWO MEMBERS OF U.S. ARMY PLEAD GUILTY TO BRIBERY CHARGES RELATED TO FUEL THEFT IN AFGHANISTAN

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Two Members of the U.S. Army Plead Guilty to Bribery Charges Related to Fuel Theft in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON – Two members of the U.S. Army have each pleaded guilty to a bribery charge for their roles in a scheme to steal jet fuel at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Fenty near Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced today.

Sergeant Regionald Dixon, 30, pleaded guilty yesterday in the District of Hawaii to one count of bribery and Specialist Larry Emmons, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of bribery on June 8, 2012.  Dixon and Emmons, both of Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Leslie Kobayashi.

According to court documents, on or about Jan. 1, 2012, Dixon and another co-conspirator sergeant in the U.S. Army, agreed to participate in a scheme to steal JP8 jet fuel from FOB Fenty.  Specialist Emmons joined the scheme when he returned to FOB Fenty from midtour leave on or about Jan. 22, 2012.

According to court documents, Dixon, Emmons and others surreptitiously filled 3,000-gallon trucks with JP8 jet fuel.  The trucks were owned by an Afghan military trucking contractor and were termed “jingle trucks” for their bright adornments.  When filling the jingle trucks, the defendants and their co-conspirators took steps to conceal their activities, including filling the trucks in clandestine locations and at times of day least likely to arouse suspicion.

Court documents state that Emmons or a co-conspirator created fraudulent transportation movement requests (TMR), military documents that officially authorize the movement of fuel from FOB Fenty to another location, usually another military base in that geographic area.  Emmons and his co-conspirator gave the fraudulent TMRs to the drivers of the jingle trucks, who presented the fraudulent TMRs at the secure departure checkpoint at FOB Fenty to justify their departure with a truckload of JP8 jet fuel.

In return for their official acts in facilitating the theft of fuel from FOB Fenty, Dixon, Emmons and a co-conspirator were paid $6,000 per 3,000-gallon truckload of JP8 jet fuel.
As part of their plea agreements, Dixon and Emmons agreed to forfeit various amounts of cash seized from them or their residences or voluntarily surrendered to federal agents.
At sentencing, scheduled for Oct. 4, 2012, Dixon and Emmons each face up to 15 years in prison.

These cases are being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Mark W. Pletcher of the Fraud Section in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  The cases were investigated by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction; the Department of the Army, Criminal Investigations Division; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the FBI; and the Department of the Air Force, Office of Special Investigations.  Valuable assistance was also provided by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.