Tag Archives: Mark H. Dubester

Former Employee of U.S. Contractor Pleads Guilty to Fraud Scheme

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A former employee of a U.S. contractor pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to defraud the United States in connection with a contract to provide reconstruction-related services in Afghanistan.
Acting Assistant Attorney General David O’Neil of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida A. Lee Bentley made the announcement.
Alan D. Simmons pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia D. Barksdale in the Middle District of Florida.
According to court documents, Simmons worked in Afghanistan as a training program coordinator for PAE Inc.  PAE had a contract with the United States Department of State to train and supply uniforms to Afghan correctional officers.    Simmons was responsible for providing information to others at PAE as to the number and types of uniforms that were to be ordered and provided to the Afghan correctional officers upon their completion of the training program.
As alleged in court documents, Simmons and others created a company, Aminzian Logistics Services (Aminzian), ostensibly to provide uniforms to PAE as a subcontractor.    In fact, Aminzian would submit false and fraudulent invoices to PAE seeking payment for goods that were not in fact provided.    After Aminzian was paid, Simmons and his co-conspirators split the proceeds.    The United States reimbursed PAE for its payments to Aminzian and incurred a loss of over $120,000.
The case was investigated by the Department of State Office of Inspector General and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).    This case was prosecuted by Special Trial Attorney Mark H. Dubester, on detail from SIGAR, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin C. Frein of the Middle District of Florida.

 

Army Soldier Sentenced for Facilitating Thefts of Fuel in Afghanistan

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United States Army soldier Albert Kelly III of Fort Knox, Kentucky, was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison for his role in stealing fuel at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Salerno in Afghanistan.    In addition to his prison term, Kelly was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution.
Acting Assistant Attorney General David O’Neil of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney David J. Hale of the Western District of Kentucky made the announcement after the sentence was imposed by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Charles R. Simpson III in the Western District of Kentucky.
According to court documents, from January 2011 to January 2012, Kelly was assigned to FOB Salerno, and for most of that time he served as a specialist.    Kelly’s duties included overseeing the delivery of fuel into FOB Salerno.  Typically, the fuel was brought into the base by Afghan trucking companies driven by Afghan nationals.    Kelly’s duties included verifying the amounts of the fuel that were delivered at FOB Salerno and preparing and certifying documents that accounted for the fuel that was delivered.
From in or about November 2011 through January 2012, Kelly diverted and permitted the diversion of fuel delivery trucks from FOB Salerno to other locations, where the diverted fuel would then be removed from the trucks and stolen.    To conceal this diversion, he falsely certified that the diverted fuel was in fact delivered at FOB Salerno.
Also according to court documents, in exchange for assisting in the theft of fuel as described, Kelly received approximately $57,000 from the Afghan trucking company.    He admitted the amount of fuel he permitted to be diverted amounted to approximately 25,000 gallons.    The United States Army paid approximately $4.00 per gallon for that fuel, and the loss to the government was approximately $100,000.
The case was investigated by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.    This case was handled by Special Trial Attorney Mark H. Dubester, on detail from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky.

Army Soldier Sentenced for Facilitating Thefts of Fuel in Afghanistan

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A U.S. Army soldier was sentenced to serve 12 months and one day in prison for his role in stealing fuel at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Fenty near Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney David J. Hale of the Western District of Kentucky made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Court Judge Thomas B. Russell in the Western District of Kentucky.
According to court documents, in May and June 2010, U.S. Army Sergeant Kevin Bilal Abdullah, 40, of Clarksville, Tenn., was involved in overseeing the delivery of fuel from FOB Fenty to other military bases.    Abdullah created fraudulent documents called Transportation Movement Requests purporting to authorize the transport of fuel from FOB Fenty to other military bases, even though no legitimate fuel transportation was required.    After the trucks were filled with fuel, these fraudulent documents were used by the drivers of the fuel trucks at FOB Fenty’s departure checkpoint to justify the trucks’ departures.    In truth, the fuel was simply stolen, and  Abdullah and his co-conspirators received payment in cash from a representative of the Afghan trucking company that allegedly stole the fuel.
Abdullah pleaded guilty on Aug. 29, 2013, to receiving payments from a representative of the trucking company in exchange for facilitating the theft of fuel in approximately 25 fuel trucks.    He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and to the substantive count of bribery.   At sentencing, he was ordered to pay $466,250 in restitution.
Abdullah’s sentencing was the fourth conviction arising from this investigation of fuel thefts at FOB Fenty.    On Aug. 3, 2012, Jonathan Hightower, a civilian employee of a military contractor who had conspired with Abdullah and others, pleaded guilty to similar charges.    After cooperating with the government, he was sentenced on Oct. 28, 2013, to serve 27 months in prison.    On Oct.10, 2012, Christopher Weaver, another conspirator, pleaded guilty to fuel theft charges and, after cooperating with the government, was sentenced on Oct. 28, 2013, to serve 37 months in prison.    On Sept. 5, 2013, former Specialist Stephanie Charboneau pleaded guilty, and on Feb. 4, 2014, she was sentenced to serve 87 months in prison.    Weaver, Hightower and Charboneau were prosecuted in the District of Colorado.
These cases were investigated by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the Department of the Army – Criminal Investigation Division, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the FBI.
The Abdullah case was handled by Special Trial Attorney Mark H. Dubester of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, on detail from SIGAR, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Bennett.

Army Soldier Pleads Guilty for Role in Stealing Fuel in Afghanistan

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U.S. Army Sergeant Albert Kelly III, 28, of Fort Knox, Ky., pleaded guilty today to theft charges for his role in the theft of fuel at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Salerno in Afghanistan.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney David J. Hale of the Western District of Kentucky made the announcement.
The plea was entered in federal court in Louisville, Ky., before Magistrate Judge James D. Moyer of the Western District of Kentucky.   Kelly faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when he is sentenced on May 22, 2014, by U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II.
According to court records, Kelly was a soldier in the United States Army and was assigned to FOB Salerno from January 2011 to January 2012.   For most of that time, Kelly served as a specialist, and his duties included overseeing the delivery of fuel into FOB Salerno.   Typically, the fuel was brought into the base by Afghan trucking companies driven by Afghan nationals.   Kelly’s duties included verifying the amounts of the fuel that were downloaded at FOB Salerno and preparing and certifying documents that accounted for the fuel that was downloaded.
From in or about November 2011 through January 2012, Kelly diverted and permitted the diversion of fuel delivery trucks from FOB Salerno to other locations, where the trucks would then be downloaded and the fuel stolen.   To conceal this diversion, he falsely certified that the diverted fuel was in fact delivered and downloaded at FOB Salerno.
In exchange for assisting the fuel theft, Kelly received approximately $57,000 from the Afghan trucking company for diverting approximately 25,000 gallons of fuel.   The loss to the government was approximately $100,000.
This case was investigated by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).   The prosecution is being handled by Special Trial Attorney Mark H. Dubester, on detail to the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section from SIGAR, and Assistant United States Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky.

Army Soldier Sentenced on Bribery Charges for Facilitating Thefts of Fuel in Afghanistan

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A former U.S. Army soldier was sentenced to serve 87 months in prison for her role in stealing fuel at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Fenty, Afghanistan, Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced today.
Former U.S. Army Specialist Stephanie Charboneau, 35, of Colorado Springs, Colo., was sentenced on Feb. 3, 2014, by U.S. District Court Philip A. Brimmer.    Charboneau pleaded guilty on Sept. 5, 2013.
According to court documents, from approximately February through May 2010, Charboneau was involved in overseeing the delivery of fuel from FOB Fenty to other military bases.    As part of this process, documents generally described as “transportation movement requests” (TMRs or mission sheets) were created to authorize the movement of fuel.
According to court documents, Charboneau conspired with others to steal and sell fuel.    The essence of the scheme was that the conspirators would create fraudulent TMRs that purported to authorize the transport of fuel from FOB Fenty to other military bases, even though no legitimate fuel transportation mission was required.    After the trucks were filled with fuel, the fraudulent TMRs were used by the drivers of the fuel trucks at FOB Fenty’s departure checkpoint to justify the trucks’ departures from FOB Fenty.    In truth, the fuel was simply stolen, and the conspirators would receive money from the trucking company that stole the fuel.
Charboneau pleaded guilty to bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery for having received payments from a representative of the trucking company in exchange for facilitating the theft of approximately 70 truckloads of fuel.   According to court documents, the loss to the United States as a result of the thefts was in excess of $1,225,000.
Charboneau’s plea was the fourth guilty plea arising from the investigation of fuel thefts at FOB Fenty.    On Aug. 3, 2012, Jonathan Hightower, a civilian employee of a military contractor who had conspired with Charboneau, pleaded guilty to similar charges.   After cooperating with the government, he was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison on Oct. 28, 2013.    On Oct.10, 2012, Christopher Weaver, who also conspired with Charboneau, pleaded guilty to fuel theft charges, and, after cooperating with the government, was sentenced to serve 37 months in prison on Oct. 28, 2013.   Both Weaver and Hightower were prosecuted in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.    On Aug. 29, 2013, Sergeant Bilal Kevin Abduallah, who succeeded Charboneau at FOB Fenty, pleaded guilty in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky to fuel theft-related charges.    His sentencing is set for Feb. 12, 2014.
The cases were investigated by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR); the Department of the Army, Criminal Investigations Division (CID); the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
These cases were handled by Special Trial Attorney Mark H. Dubester of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, who is on detail from SIGAR.

Army Soldier Pleads Guilty in Kentucky to Bribery Charges for Facilitating Thefts of Fuel in Afghanistan

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U.S. Army Sergeant Kevin Bilal Abdullah pleaded guilty today to bribery charges for his role in the theft of fuel at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Fenty, near Jalalabad, Afghanistan.

The guilty plea was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky David J. Hale.

Abdullah, 30, of Fort Campbell, Ky., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell in the Western District of Kentucky to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and one substantive count of bribery.

According to court documents, in approximately May and June 2010, Abdullah was involved in overseeing the delivery of fuel from FOB Fenty to other military bases.  As part of this process, documents generally described as “transportation movement requests” (TMRs or mission sheets) were created to authorize the movement of fuel.

According to court documents, Abdullah created fraudulent TMRs that purported to authorize the transport of fuel from FOB Fenty to other military bases, even though no legitimate fuel transportation was required.  After the trucks were filled with fuel, the fraudulent TMRs were used by the drivers of the fuel trucks at FOB Fenty’s departure checkpoint in order to justify the trucks’ departures from FOB Fenty.  In truth, the fuel was simply stolen.

Abdullah pleaded guilty to receiving payments from a representative of the trucking company in exchange for facilitating the theft of approximately 25 truckloads of fuel.  According to court documents, the loss to the United States as a result of the theft was in excess of $400,000.

Abdullah’s plea is the third guilty plea arising from this investigation of fuel thefts at FOB Fenty.  On Aug. 3, 2012, Jonathan Hightower, a civilian employee of a military contractor who had conspired with Abdullah, pleaded guilty to similar charges.  On Oct. 10, 2012, Christopher Weaver also pleaded guilty to fuel theft charges.  A fourth individual, Stephanie Charboneau, was indicted April 9, 2013, and is pending trial on fuel theft-related charges.

This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Mark H. Dubester of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky.  This case was investigated by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction; Department of the Army, Criminal Investigations Division; Defense Criminal Investigative Service; and FBI.