Department of Defense Contractors Charged with Bribery Offenses in Iraq

Strategic Insights -

Two individuals have been charged with bribery offenses related to Department of Defense contracts, marking the latest effort by the Fraud Section to combat corruption and fraud in contracting on U.S. military installations overseas. Mark Alan Fryday and Lara Jumaah Mohammed, residing in Erbil, Iraq, have been indicted for conspiracy and bribery of a public official. The alleged scheme sought to undermine the Department of Defense's efforts to lawfully contract overseas, with corruption affecting the military's readiness and the wellbeing of servicemembers. The Department of Justice has vowed to protect U.S. military personnel from corrupt and fraudulent conduct worldwide.

Key Takeaways:

  • Mark Alan Fryday and Lara Jumaah Mohammed, residing in Erbil, Iraq, have been charged with conspiracy and bribery of a public official related to Department of Defense contracts.
  • The alleged scheme involved offering bribes to a U.S. Army official at Erbil Air Base in Iraq, with Fryday and Mohammed owning companies seeking contracts to supply goods and services to U.S. military forces there.
  • The indictment alleges that Fryday and Mohammed offered a 20 percent kickback to an Army contracting official for contract awards and an upfront cash payment for the award of a equipment contract in late March 2020.
  • Two additional individuals, Roy George Varkey and Xavier Fernando Monroy, have been previously charged with bribery offenses related to Department of Defense contracts.
  • Roy George Varkey was charged with two counts of bribery for offering bribes to an employee of the Defense Logistics Agency at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait in 2019.
  • Xavier Fernando Monroy, the former Director of Operations of the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command Office in Busan, Republic of Korea, was charged with participating in a bribery conspiracy and lying to federal investigators in 2020.
  • An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
  • The investigation is being conducted by DCIS and the CID's Major Procurement Fraud Unit, with trial attorney Michael P. McCarthy and assistant U.S. attorney Eric S. Nguyen prosecuting the case.

Statistics:

  • 20 percent: The alleged kickback offered by Fryday and Mohammed to an Army contracting official for contract awards.
  • Late March 2020: The alleged date of an upfront cash payment offered by Fryday and Mohammed for a equipment contract award.
  • 2019: The year in which Roy George Varkey was charged with two counts of bribery for offering bribes to an employee of the Defense Logistics Agency at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait.
  • December 19, 2019: The date on which Roy George Varkey was charged with two counts of bribery.
  • May 20, 2020: The date on which Xavier Fernando Monroy was charged with participating in a bribery conspiracy and lying to federal investigators.

Sources:

  • Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt
  • Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin of the District of Columbia
  • Stanley Newell, Special Agent in Charge for the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Transnational Operations Field Office
  • Director Frank Robey of the U.S. Criminal Investigation Command's (CID) Major Procurement Fraud Unit
  • Roy George Varkey indictment, filed in the District of Columbia on December 19, 2019
  • Xavier Fernando Monroy complaint, filed in the District of Columbia on May 20, 2020
  • "Justice Department Announces New Charges in Corruption and Procurement Scheme in Iraq" (2020)