[Vision2020] Army Probes Wide-Ranging Contractor Fraud

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (January 29, 2007) Roundup Edition of the Army Times -

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Army probes wide-ranging contractor fraud

By John Heilprin - The Associated Press
Posted Sunday Jan 28, 2007 10:25:39 EST
   
WASHINGTON - From high-dollar fraud to conspiracy to bribery and bid
rigging, Army investigators have opened up to 50 criminal probes involving
battlefield contractors in the war in Iraq and anti-terrorism efforts, The
Associated Press has learned.

Senior contracting officials, government employees, residents of other
countries and, in some cases, military personnel have been implicated in
millions of dollars of fraud allegations.

"All of these involve operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait," Chris
Grey, a spokesman for the Army Criminal Investigation Command, confirmed
Saturday to the AP.

"CID agents will pursue leads and the truth wherever it may take us," Grey
said. "We take this very seriously."

Battlefield contractors have been implicated in allegations of fraud and
abuse since the war in Iraq began in spring 2003. A special inspector
general office that focused solely on reconstruction spending in Iraq
developed cases that led to four criminal convictions.

The problems stem in part from the Pentagon's struggle to get a handle on
the unprecedented number of contractors now helping run the country's wars.
Contractors are used in battle zones to do nearly everything but fight. They
run cafeterias and laundries for troops, move supplies, run communication
systems and repair weapons systems.

Special agents from the Army's major procurement fraud unit recently were
dispatched to Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, where they are "working closely
and sharing information with other law enforcement agencies in the region,"
Grey said.

"Given the billions of dollars in contract dollars that have been and are
being spent, it is our experience that our agents will detect millions of
dollars in fraud before we are done," Grey said. "And just as likely, we
will be instrumental in bringing back to the U.S. government millions of
dollars in recoveries."

One case involves an Army chief warrant officer accused of taking a $50,000
bribe to steer a contract for paper products and plastic flatware away from
a government contractor and to a Kuwaiti company, according to an indictment
unsealed Thursday in federal court at Rock Island, Illinois.

Prosecutors say the officer took the bribe while at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait,
while he was the Army's food service adviser for Iraq, Afghanistan and
Kuwait, according to the indictment. The officer is also accused of trying
to smuggle $40,000 in undeclared cash into the United States on a December
2005 flight from Kuwait to Dover, Delaware.

Other cases involve a government officer manipulating a contract in exchange
for large bribes, a contractor making false claims against the government
and an official accepting gratuities. The cases range in type, seriousness
and complexity and involve contractors both inside and outside the United
States.

The Pentagon has viewed outsourcing a wide variety of military tasks as much
more efficient, leaving troops trained in combat to the business of war.

But the Government Accountability Office reported in December that the
military has been losing millions of dollars because it cannot monitor
industry workers in far-flung locations.

The Defense Department's inability to manage contractors effectively has
hurt military operations and unit morale and cost the Pentagon money, the
GAO said.

Some 60,000 contractors have been supporting the Army in Southwest Asia,
which includes Iraq. That compares with 9,200 contractors in the 1991 Gulf
War.

Commanders are often unsure how many contractors use their bases and require
food, housing and protection, according to the report. One Army official
said the service estimates losing about $43 million each year on free meals
provided to contractors who also get a food allowance.

The new Democratic Congress plans to ramp up oversight of the billions of
dollars being spent in Iraq, including dollars awarded to contractors.
Democratic Congressman Ike Skelton, the chairman of the House Armed Services
Committee, has said he plans to target contractor abuse.

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho


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"Sins can be committed in ignorance, and the fact that they were committed
in ignorance doesn't cause the sin to just disappear . . . "

- Princess Sushitushi (September 10, 2006)

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