WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (UPI) — One current and three former U.S. Army soldiers received prison sentences over a $10 million fuel theft bribery scheme while serving in Afghanistan.
The soldiers, serving with the 3rd Special Forces Group Service Detachment deployed to Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan, managed Transportation Movement Requests for fuel and other items, paid for by the U.S. government.
The men each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of bribery.
“The defendants admitted to submitting fake TMRs for thousands of gallons of fuel that were neither necessary nor used by military units,” the Department of Justice said in a statement. “The defendants admitted that, in return for cash bribe payments, they awarded all of the TMRs to the same Afghan trucking company, which used the fake TMRs to download fuel from depots on Kandahar Air Field and then sold the fuel on the black market.”
The Justice Department identified the soon-to-be inmates:
Jeffery B. Edmondson, 38, of Fayetteville, N.C., was sentenced to eight years in prison. He was the senior enlisted member of the unit who supervised the scheme.
Geoffrey Montague, 39, of Fayetteville, N.C., was sentenced to five years in prison. He was a senior enlisted member of the unit who reported to Edmondson.
Christopher Ciampa, 33, of Lillington, N.C., was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Enmanual Lugo, 32, of Ocean Township, N.J., was sentenced to four years in prison.
