3 US Troops Plead Guilty In Fraud Case Over Defense Contracts
6-19-09 7:22 PM EDT
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES-Two U.S. military officials pleaded guilty to bribery, fraud and conspiracy charges relating to Defense Department contracts in Afghanistan, and a third pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property in connection with the case, the Justice Department said Friday.
Four Defense Department contractors and four affiliated contracting companies also were indicted and accused of paying bribes to the military officials.
Christopher P. West, an Army Major from Chicago who served in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2005, pleaded guilty to three counts of bribery and five counts of conspiracy. West admitted accepting $90,000 from contractors for awarding contracts at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. He also admitted accepting cash from contractors for certifying inflated numbers of bunkers and barriers delivered at Bagram, causing the government to pay for goods never received.
Patrick W. Boyd, an Air Force master sergeant from Rockledge, Fla., who served as a contracting officer at Bagram in 2004 and 2005, pleaded guilty to three counts of bribery and three counts of conspiracy for accepting $90,000 from contractors for the award of contracts. He also admitted receiving $25,000 from a contractor for the award of a telecommunications infrastructure contract at Bagram.
Charles Patton, a friend of West and an Army sergeant from Chicago, pleaded guilty to charges of receiving stolen property. He admitted receiving shipments of cash from West in 2004 and 2005, while West was in Afghanistan. Patton hid the money in his home until West returned to U.S.
West, Boyd and Patton agreed to pay restitution of $500,000, $130,000 and $ 100,000, respectively, as well as forfeit any fraud-related assets and cooperate with the investigation.
Also indicted were brothers and U.S. citizens Assad John Ramin and Tahir Ramin; their companies AZ Corp. and Top’s Construction; Afghan citizen Noor Alam and his company Northern Reconstruction Organization; and Abdul Qudoos Bakhshi, an Afghan, and his company Naweed Bakhshi Co. on bribery, fraud and conspiracy charges. (click HERE for original article)
Other Related Posts From Ms Sparky
- ASFT Executive to Plead Guilty to Navy Kickback Scheme Charges
- Former soldiers plead guilty to charges in Afghanistan contract fraud
- Justin W. Lee pleads guilty to charges relating to Iraq contracts
- Former U.S. Army Major Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering Charge Related to Contracts Supporting Iraq War
- Defense Contractors Convicted of Fraud Often Continue to Receive Multi-Million Dollar Contracts
I was there during that period. Remember the Afghans had to pay the local warlord for the right to due to business in The Parwan Valley. Incidentally the recent attack, which killed our troops and civilians, was more than likely a non-Taliban incident. The local warlord did this before when one of his companies was kicked off Bagram.
Ms Sparky’s Response:
Well that’s something to think about.