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December 9, 2011 Friday 4:56 PM EST
FORMER ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS EMPLOYEE SENTENCED TO 20 MONTHS IN
PRISON FOR ACCEPTING BRIBES FROM IRAQI CONTRACTORS
WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 -- The U.S. Department of Justice's Criminal
Division issued the following news release:
A former employee of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stationed in
Baghdad, Iraq, was sentenced today in the Eastern District of Virginia
to 20 months in prison for conspiring to receive bribes from Iraqi
contractors involved in the U.S.-funded reconstruction efforts,
announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice
Department's Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride for the
Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant Director in Charge James W.
McJunkin of the FBI's Washington Field Office.
Thomas Aram Manok, 51, of Chantilly, Va., was sentenced by U.S.
District Judge Anthony J. Trenga. In addition to his prison term,
Manok was sentenced to three years of supervised release. Judge Trenga
ordered a forfeiture hearing to be held on Jan. 13, 2012. Manok
pleaded guilty on Sept. 19, 2011.
Manok admitted to using his official position to conspire with Iraqi
contractors to accept cash bribes in exchange for recommending that
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approve contracts and other requests
for payment submitted by the contractors to the U.S. government.
According to court documents, in March and April 2010, Manok agreed to
receive a $10,000 payment from one such contractor who had been
involved in constructing a kindergarten and girls' school in the Abu
Ghraib neighborhood of Baghdad and had sought Manok's influence in
having requests for payment approved by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers. According to court documents, Manok was to receive an
additional bribe payment from the contractor once the contractor's
claim had been approved. Manok also admitted that he intended to
conceal the payments from authorities by transferring them, via
associates, from Iraq to Armenia.
This case was investigated by the FBI's Washington Field Office, the
Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General, the Army
Criminal Investigation Command and the Defense Criminal Investigative
Service, as participants in the International Contract Corruption Task
Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J.
Nathanson of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Mary
Ann McCarthy of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section.
This prosecution is part of efforts underway by President Barack
Obama's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama
established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to
wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate
and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes
representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory
authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement
who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and
civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve
efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local
partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes,
ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate
financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial
markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For
more information about the task force visit: www.stopfraud.gov.
From: Baghdasarian
December 9, 2011 Friday 4:56 PM EST
FORMER ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS EMPLOYEE SENTENCED TO 20 MONTHS IN
PRISON FOR ACCEPTING BRIBES FROM IRAQI CONTRACTORS
WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 -- The U.S. Department of Justice's Criminal
Division issued the following news release:
A former employee of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stationed in
Baghdad, Iraq, was sentenced today in the Eastern District of Virginia
to 20 months in prison for conspiring to receive bribes from Iraqi
contractors involved in the U.S.-funded reconstruction efforts,
announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice
Department's Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride for the
Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant Director in Charge James W.
McJunkin of the FBI's Washington Field Office.
Thomas Aram Manok, 51, of Chantilly, Va., was sentenced by U.S.
District Judge Anthony J. Trenga. In addition to his prison term,
Manok was sentenced to three years of supervised release. Judge Trenga
ordered a forfeiture hearing to be held on Jan. 13, 2012. Manok
pleaded guilty on Sept. 19, 2011.
Manok admitted to using his official position to conspire with Iraqi
contractors to accept cash bribes in exchange for recommending that
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approve contracts and other requests
for payment submitted by the contractors to the U.S. government.
According to court documents, in March and April 2010, Manok agreed to
receive a $10,000 payment from one such contractor who had been
involved in constructing a kindergarten and girls' school in the Abu
Ghraib neighborhood of Baghdad and had sought Manok's influence in
having requests for payment approved by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers. According to court documents, Manok was to receive an
additional bribe payment from the contractor once the contractor's
claim had been approved. Manok also admitted that he intended to
conceal the payments from authorities by transferring them, via
associates, from Iraq to Armenia.
This case was investigated by the FBI's Washington Field Office, the
Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General, the Army
Criminal Investigation Command and the Defense Criminal Investigative
Service, as participants in the International Contract Corruption Task
Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J.
Nathanson of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Mary
Ann McCarthy of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section.
This prosecution is part of efforts underway by President Barack
Obama's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama
established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to
wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate
and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes
representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory
authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement
who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and
civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve
efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local
partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes,
ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate
financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial
markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For
more information about the task force visit: www.stopfraud.gov.
From: Baghdasarian