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Iraqi general helped cheat U.S. government, contractors involved in scheme say
Source: Washington Post
Iraqi general helped cheat U.S. government, contractors involved in scheme say
By Rachel Weiner November 28 at 5:43 PM
A prominent Iraqi general was involved in a scheme to cheat the State Department out of millions of dollars, according to former U.S. contractors involved.
Two former DynCorp International workers testified in Alexandria federal court this week that they were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by Fadhil Jamil al-Barwari, commander of the First Brigade of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces, to arrange an overpriced lease of land the general owned near the Baghdad airport starting in 2011.
Payments came through Emil Popescu, a Romanian contractor who had been hired by Barwari, the workers said. The details were revealed in the trial for Popescu, who is charged with conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Act.
The onetime DynCorp workers, Wesley Struble and Jose Rivera, have pleaded guilty to their role in the conspiracy.
The scheme came together, Struble testified Monday, as the United States began drawing down its military presence in Iraq. Contractors were scrambling to find work while companies searched for new land to lease as U.S. bases closed.
-snip-
By Rachel Weiner November 28 at 5:43 PM
A prominent Iraqi general was involved in a scheme to cheat the State Department out of millions of dollars, according to former U.S. contractors involved.
Two former DynCorp International workers testified in Alexandria federal court this week that they were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by Fadhil Jamil al-Barwari, commander of the First Brigade of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces, to arrange an overpriced lease of land the general owned near the Baghdad airport starting in 2011.
Payments came through Emil Popescu, a Romanian contractor who had been hired by Barwari, the workers said. The details were revealed in the trial for Popescu, who is charged with conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Act.
The onetime DynCorp workers, Wesley Struble and Jose Rivera, have pleaded guilty to their role in the conspiracy.
The scheme came together, Struble testified Monday, as the United States began drawing down its military presence in Iraq. Contractors were scrambling to find work while companies searched for new land to lease as U.S. bases closed.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/iraqi-general-helped-cheat-us-government-contractors-involved-in-scheme-say/2017/11/28/9cbee7cc-d3ab-11e7-b62d-d9345ced896d_story.html