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Date Posted: 01:12:29 07/04/13 Thu
Author: Leon Harrison
Subject: 5 Charged In Iraq Fraud
In reply to: Renae Merle 's message, "5 Indicted in Probe of Iraq Deals" on 01:06:16 07/04/13 Thu

http://www.sigir.mil/directorates/investigations/pressReleases.html

February 11, 2009, 5:23 PM

5 Charged In Iraq Fraud

Three U.S. Army Reserve officers were indicted Wednesday, accused of taking part in a bid-rigging scam that steered millions of dollars for Iraq reconstruction projects to a contractor in exchange for cash, luxury cars and jewelry.

An American businessman in Romania was charged as the go-between for the military officers and the contractor. The husband of one of the reservists was accused of helping smuggle tens of thousands of dollars into the United States that the couple used to pay for a deck and a hot tub at their New Jersey house.

Together, the five used the $26 billion Iraqi rebuilding fund "as their own personal ATM machines," Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty said in announcing the charges.

"These defendants actually took bricks of stolen cash ... and smuggled them out of Iraq and back to the United States for their own personal use," McNulty said.

The 25-count indictment, filed in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, marks the latest development in an investigation of $8.6 million in Iraq contracts awarded to construction mogul Philip H. Bloom.

Bloom, an American citizen who ran construction and services companies under Global Business Group, has admitted to laundering at least $2 million that was stolen from reconstruction funds managed by the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. He awaits sentencing.

McNulty said the five people indicted Wednesday stole or otherwise misused $3.6 million from the CPA fund.

The three reservists — Col. Curtis G. Whiteford of Utah, Lt. Col. Debra M. Harrison of New Jersey and Lt. Col. Michael B. Wheeler of Wisconsin — were responsible for helping supervise the funding and progress of the CPA contracts in al-Hillah, Iraq, southwest of Baghdad.

In return for steering contracts to Bloom between 2003 and 2005, prosecutors said, the military reservists and their accomplices shared an estimated $1 million in cash, and were showered with Porsche and Nissan sports cars, a Cadillac SUV, real estate, a Breitling watch, business-class plane tickets, computers and other items.

Harrison's husband, William Driver, was charged with helping smuggle over $300,000 into the U.S., part of which was used for home improvements, prosecutors said.

One of Bloom's friends, businessman Seymour Morris Jr., allegedly acted as a go-between for the military officers and the construction company by illegally wiring money and securing the goods. Morris is a U.S. citizen who lives in Romania, and owns a Cyprus-based financial services business.

Charges against the five include bribery, conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering and transporting stolen property.

The indictment was unsealed the day after authorities arrested Morris in Romania. It also followed tough questioning Tuesday by House Democrats of the former U.S. occupation chief in Iraq over how he doled out up to $12 billion in Iraqi money without accounting for it.

At that hearing, in front of the a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, L. Paul Bremer III repeatedly said he had spent Iraqi — not U.S. — money. Bremer ran the country for 14 months.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents helped unravel the scheme by examining money trails and other data gleaned from computers, cell phones, global positioning systems and other devices, said Kumar Kibble, the agency's deputy assistant director for national security.

Stuart Bowen, the government's special inspector general in Iraq, said his team of 10 investigators are pursuing 80 cases of waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars in reconstruction contracts.

Last week, former CPA comptroller and funding officer Robert Stein, 52, of Fayetteville, N.C., was sentenced to nine years in prison for receiving kickbacks from Bloom in exchange for contracts.

Bribery and fraud "has not been a significant component of the American reconstruction experience over there, but where we found it, it has been egregious," Bowen said. "And this is an egregious example of it."

© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

National Briefing | Washington:

Businessman Sentenced In Iraq Scheme

Published: February 17, 2007

An American businessman whose companies made more than $8 million in Iraq reconstruction money through a gifts-for-contracts scheme was sentenced to 46 months in prison. The businessman, Philip H. Bloom, who has lived in Romania for many years, pleaded guilty last year to bribery and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Mr. Bloom admitted bribing military personnel with jewelry, computers, cigars and sexual favors. Three Army Reserve officers were indicted last week as part of the case; the officers, Col. Curtis G. Whiteford of Utah, Lt. Col. Debra M. Harrison of New Jersey and Lt. Col. Michael B. Wheeler of Wisconsin, were accused of steering contracts to Mr. Bloom from 2003 to 2005.

BBC NEWS

Five charged over US Iraq 'scam'

A US court has charged three reserve army officers and two civilians with using millions of dollars of Iraq reconstruction money for personal gain.

The group are accused of directing at least $8m (£4m) to a construction firm run by a US businessman in return for luxuries such as cars and jewellery.

The officers were responsible for supervising how some $26bn was spent on reconstruction projects in Iraq.

One man has already been jailed and another awaits sentence over the scam.

Cash and jewellery

According to the 25-count indictment, Col Curtis G Whiteford, Lt Col Debra M Harrison and Lt Col Michael B Wheeler channelled the funds into a construction and services company operated by US businessman Philip H Bloom.

US citizen Michael Morris is alleged to have acted as a go-between, illegally wiring money and securing the goods.

“ This indictment alleges that the defendants flagrantly enriched themselves at the expense of the Iraqi people ”
Paul J McNulty
US deputy attorney general
Mr Morris was arrested in Romania, from where the US is seeking to extradite him back to New Jersey.

The other indicted civilian, William Driver, is Col Harrison's husband.

The group is alleged to have run the scam for two years, from December 2003 when Iraq was governed by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

The officers are alleged to have rigged contracts being awarded by the CPA so they were won by Bloom's company.

In return, Bloom is alleged to have furnished the group and others with over $1m in cash, vehicles, jewellery, computers, business class airline tickets, alcohol and promises of employment.

Mr Driver is charged with helping to smuggle at least $10,000 into the US to help pay for home improvements.

"This indictment alleges that the defendants flagrantly enriched themselves at the expense of the Iraqi people - the very people they were there to help," said Deputy Attorney General Paul J McNulty.

"US government officials working in Iraq are not for sale," he said.

Last week former Pentagon contractor Robert Stein was jailed for nine years after pleading guilty to the scam.

Bloom has also pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentence.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6340717.stm

Published: 2007/02/07 22:22:27 GMT

© BBC 2013

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Amanda Michelle Bisack -- Leon Harrison, 00:49:00 07/05/13 Fri