Officer who stole $690K in Iraq nabbed by IRS

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Officer who stole $690K in Iraq nabbed by IRS
By Joe Gould - Staff wroter
Posted : Monday Dec 21, 2009 11:12:30 EST

Capt. Michael D. Nguyen was entrusted with hundreds of thousands of dollars in Iraq reconstruction aid. He betrayed that trust.

The 29-year-old West Point graduate stole $690,000 to buy a luxury laundry list of flashy cars, widescreen televisions, BowFlex home gym equipment, guns, electronics and furniture, according to federal authorities.

Nguyen pleaded guilty in federal court Dec. 7 to charges he stole government property and illegally structured transactions during his deployment to Diyala province in 2007 and 2008. He faces up to 20 years in prison, $500,000 in fines and a likely end to his career. What’s more, as part of his plea agreement, Nguyen must pay back all of the money he stole.

The Fort Lewis, Wash., soldier’s sentencing is set for March 1, 2010 in a U.S. District Court in Portland, Ore.

The federal government seized $309,200 in cash that Nguyen had stashed in his attic, the contents of his bank accounts, and dozens of items purchased with his loot. Court papers list a 2009 Hummer H3T sport utility vehicle, a 2008 BMW M3 car, a BowFlex dumbbell set, treadmill and all-in-one exercise machine, a 60-inch flat-screen and four other TVs, leather dining room and living room sets, a refrigerator, two laptops and a Playstation 3.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/12/army_theft_122109w/