wmlro.com: soldier jailed for Afghanistan theft
David Gilliam, a former captain in the US Army, has been sentenced to four years, two months in jail and ordered to refund more than USD400,000 to the US government for stealing from US funds in Afghanistan and laundering the proceeds.
Gilliam pleaded guilty to charges of theft, money laundering - and filing a false tax return.
He stole the money whilst working at Khandahar Air Base over a one-year period starting in April 2004.
He was a "disbursing officer" in the 125th Finance Battalion based in Hawaii. After his tour of duty, he moved to South Carolina.
There is a long history of "disbursing officer" fraud or theft. A 1997 report produced by the USA's Officer of the Inspector General - Audit found
- material management control weaknesses for cash management; as a result of these weaknesses, over USD140,000 in deposits was not received at the Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond, Virginia
- Management control weaknesses included the lack of separation of duties, which resulted in improper delegation of authority, non-compliance with dual control procedures, and failure to verify cash on hand. Deposits were not reconciled, and management had limited oversight of the disbursing office, increasing the potential for error or risk of loss. Other control deficiencies resulted in excessive cash balances and the untimely recording and reconciliation of transactions, causing inaccuracies in the financial records. The former disbursing officer at the Naval Surface Warfare Centre in Dahlgren was indicted by a Richmond federal grand jury on ten counts of government property theft. If convicted, the disbursing officer faces a maximum of ten years in prison and a criminal fine of USD250,000 for each count.
In Iraq, there have been a number of cases of funds simply going missing - to the tune of approx USD1,000 million and disbursing officers have been implicated in a number of those cases.
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