A U.S. Army Reserve officer admitted on Friday that he steered millions of dollars meant for Iraq’s reconstruction as part of a conspiracy involving kickbacks, smuggling and sexual favors, Reuters news agency reported.
Bruce D. Hopfengardner, 46, of Fredericksburg, Virginia, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and money laundering, the Justice Department said in a statement.
"A Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army admitted to disturbing abuse of his position, in scheming with others to defraud the government for their own personal and financial gain," Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher said.
Hopfengardner served as an adviser to the U.S.-led occupation forces in Iraq, recommending funding for projects on law enforcement facilities in the war-torn country.
He admitted conspiring with Philip H. Bloom, a U.S. citizen with businesses in Romania and postwar Iraq, Robert J. Stein, a former Defense Department contract official, and others to create a corrupt biding process that included the theft of $2 million in reconstruction money.
In exchange, they received money, plane tickets, jewelry, alcohol, cigars and sexual favors from women provided by Bloom at his villa in Baghdad, the government said.
Hopfengardner is the first military officer to admit taking part in the scheme. Bloom and Stein have already pleaded guilty to related charges.
Stein, who was responsible for overseeing more than $82 slated for rebuilding the shattered infrastructure in Iraq in 2003 and 2004, pleaded guilty in February to stealing more than $2 million and rigging bids on $8.6 million in reconstruction contracts.
Bloom pleaded guilty on April 18 to conspiracy, bribery and money laundering.
Prosecutors said some of the stolen money was smuggled out of Iraq into the United States aboard commercial airlines. Hopfengardner and his co-conspirators also laundered cash through multiple bank accounts in Switzerland, Amsterdam and Romania.
Hopfengardner faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000.
Two other Army Reserve lieutenant colonels were arrested last year in connection with the investigation.
The Coalition Provisional Authority has already been criticized over the way it managed reconstruction funds.
Earlier this year, a report by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SGIR) said that huge sums of money intended for Iraq’s reconstruction were stashed in filing cabinets, paid without receipts, and gambled away between 2003 and 2004.
AlJazeera
Bruce D. Hopfengardner, 46, of Fredericksburg, Virginia, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and money laundering, the Justice Department said in a statement.
"A Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army admitted to disturbing abuse of his position, in scheming with others to defraud the government for their own personal and financial gain," Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher said.
Hopfengardner served as an adviser to the U.S.-led occupation forces in Iraq, recommending funding for projects on law enforcement facilities in the war-torn country.
He admitted conspiring with Philip H. Bloom, a U.S. citizen with businesses in Romania and postwar Iraq, Robert J. Stein, a former Defense Department contract official, and others to create a corrupt biding process that included the theft of $2 million in reconstruction money.
In exchange, they received money, plane tickets, jewelry, alcohol, cigars and sexual favors from women provided by Bloom at his villa in Baghdad, the government said.
Hopfengardner is the first military officer to admit taking part in the scheme. Bloom and Stein have already pleaded guilty to related charges.
Stein, who was responsible for overseeing more than $82 slated for rebuilding the shattered infrastructure in Iraq in 2003 and 2004, pleaded guilty in February to stealing more than $2 million and rigging bids on $8.6 million in reconstruction contracts.
Bloom pleaded guilty on April 18 to conspiracy, bribery and money laundering.
Prosecutors said some of the stolen money was smuggled out of Iraq into the United States aboard commercial airlines. Hopfengardner and his co-conspirators also laundered cash through multiple bank accounts in Switzerland, Amsterdam and Romania.
Hopfengardner faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000.
Two other Army Reserve lieutenant colonels were arrested last year in connection with the investigation.
The Coalition Provisional Authority has already been criticized over the way it managed reconstruction funds.
Earlier this year, a report by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SGIR) said that huge sums of money intended for Iraq’s reconstruction were stashed in filing cabinets, paid without receipts, and gambled away between 2003 and 2004.
AlJazeera
