Fraud trial begins in Illinois in case of military contract in Kuwait
A former employee of a Halliburton subsidiary conspired with a Kuwaiti businessman to cheat the U.S. military out of millions of dollars by inflating bids for refueling tankers, prosecutors said.
By Agencies |
ROCK ISLAND/ILLINOIS: A former employee of a Halliburton subsidiary conspired with a Kuwaiti businessman to cheat the U.S. military out of millions of dollars by inflating bids for refueling tankers, prosecutors said.
But defense attorneys told a federal court in Illinois on Monday that Jeff Alex Mazon was an overworked man who erred in converting Kuwaiti currency to U.S. dollars.
``He had an overwhelming job and everything he did had to be done yesterday,'' defense attorney Alan R. Burnell said in his opening statements, The Rock Island Argus newspaper reported. ``It wasn't a fraud, it was a mistake.''
Mazon, 39, who was a procurement officer for KBR Inc., and Ali Hijazi inflated a tanker bid subcontract out of greed, prosecutors said.
``The evidence in this trial is about money. It's about greed. It's about war profiteering,'' Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Cannon said. ``All you have to do is follow the money.''
Testimony was scheduled to resume Wednesday. The men face four counts each of major fraud and six counts each of wire fraud. Each faces as much as 10 years in prison on each major fraud charge and a $5 million (euro3.15 million) fine if convicted, although Hijazi lives in Kuwait and has not been taken into custody.
Conviction on each count of wire fraud could carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 (euro157,540).
The indictment came from a federal grand jury in Illinois because the Army Field Support Command at the Rock Island Arsenal oversees the military contract that included the tanker deal.
According to the indictment, Mazon accepted a bid on the tankers from Hijazi's company, LaNouvelle General Trading and Contracting Co., in 2003. He is accused of inflating the bid to $5.5 million on a project the company estimated would cost $680,000. Mazon then secretly inflated the bid of a competing company to make LaNouvelle's bid appear to be lower, the indictment says.
Hijazi paid Mazon $1 million for the favorable treatment, the indictment alleges.
KBR brought the matter to the government's attention in 2004. The company repaid the government for the refueling tanker subcontract when it recognized the potential fraud, and disqualified LaNouvelle from future work, a Halliburton spokeswoman has said.
KBR and Houston-based Halliburton are not named in the indictment.
But defense attorneys told a federal court in Illinois on Monday that Jeff Alex Mazon was an overworked man who erred in converting Kuwaiti currency to U.S. dollars.
``He had an overwhelming job and everything he did had to be done yesterday,'' defense attorney Alan R. Burnell said in his opening statements, The Rock Island Argus newspaper reported. ``It wasn't a fraud, it was a mistake.''
Mazon, 39, who was a procurement officer for KBR Inc., and Ali Hijazi inflated a tanker bid subcontract out of greed, prosecutors said.
``The evidence in this trial is about money. It's about greed. It's about war profiteering,'' Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Cannon said. ``All you have to do is follow the money.''
Testimony was scheduled to resume Wednesday. The men face four counts each of major fraud and six counts each of wire fraud. Each faces as much as 10 years in prison on each major fraud charge and a $5 million (euro3.15 million) fine if convicted, although Hijazi lives in Kuwait and has not been taken into custody.
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Conviction on each count of wire fraud could carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 (euro157,540).
The indictment came from a federal grand jury in Illinois because the Army Field Support Command at the Rock Island Arsenal oversees the military contract that included the tanker deal.
According to the indictment, Mazon accepted a bid on the tankers from Hijazi's company, LaNouvelle General Trading and Contracting Co., in 2003. He is accused of inflating the bid to $5.5 million on a project the company estimated would cost $680,000. Mazon then secretly inflated the bid of a competing company to make LaNouvelle's bid appear to be lower, the indictment says.
Hijazi paid Mazon $1 million for the favorable treatment, the indictment alleges.
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KBR brought the matter to the government's attention in 2004. The company repaid the government for the refueling tanker subcontract when it recognized the potential fraud, and disqualified LaNouvelle from future work, a Halliburton spokeswoman has said.
KBR and Houston-based Halliburton are not named in the indictment.
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