David Anthony Kline, Gratuities, North Carolina 2015

Raleigh, North Carolina - In a shocking turn of events, a former US Army Captain has pleaded guilty to soliciting and receiving a gratuity from a contractor doing business with the US military.

David Anthony Kline, 32, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle to solicitation and receipt of a gratuity and aiding and abetting the same, all in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 201(c)(1)(B) and 2.

According to the Criminal Information filed on September 9, 2015, and information presented in open court, Kline, while serving as a First Lieutenant in the United States Department of the Army and stationed at Kandahar Air Field, in Afghanistan, did seek and accept $50,000 in gratuities from a contractor doing business with the United States military.

Kline, who has since been promoted to the rank of Captain, oversaw the handling of Transportation Movement Requests, or TMRs, which are the means by which a military unit in the field submits a request for the transport of military items, to include fuel and equipment, food and other supplies, from one location to another across Afghanistan.

Inspector General John Sopko of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) stated: 'Stealing from the U.S. government undermines our mission in Afghanistan, plain and simple. Not only did Captain Kline seek to defraud American taxpayers and abuse his position of authority as an officer, but he also put his fellow soldiers in harm's way by stealing vital resources that are needed for legitimate operations.'

The case was investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigation Service (DCIS), Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) Major Procurement Fraud Unit, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Banumathi Rangarajan of the Eastern District of North Carolina and Trial Attorney Wade Weems of the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division's Fraud Section.

Kline has been charged with solicitation and receipt of a gratuity and aiding and abetting the same, all in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 201(c)(1)(B) and 2. He is currently awaiting sentencing.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/pr/army-captain-pleads-guilty-gratuities-charge