Ex-KBR employees charged with defrauding the government out of $2.1 million

[ck4829]

A federal grand jury has indicted two former employees of government contractor KBR for an alleged scheme that defrauded the Pentagon out of more than $2 million.

James Sellman and Wallace Ward, formerly of Houston-based Kellogg Brown and Root, Inc., face charges for allegedly conspiring to defraud the Department of Defense through a bribery scheme involving fuel shipments they received at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.

According to the indictment, Sellman and Ward allegedly pocketed cash payments that Afghan truck drivers gave them in exchange for overstating fuel quantities on receipts for deliveries to the airfield.

As a result of the alleged transactions, which the government says took place between May and September 2006, truckers diverted more than 784,000 gallons of fuel — valued at over $2.1 million — away from the base.

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/FedCrimes/story?id=3997727&page=1

[pinto]

1. Good to see some of these theives go to trial.

[Solar_Power]

2. Where is the GAO?

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is known as "the investigative arm of Congress" and "the congressional watchdog." GAO supports the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and helps improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. GAO's work includes oversight of federal programs; insight into ways to make government more efficient, effective, ethical and equitable; and foresight of long-term trends and challenges.

http://www.gao.gov/