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Fuel Heist Kingpin Snagged
Washington – In a shocking turn of events, U.S. Army Sergeant Christopher Weaver, 29, of Fort Carson, Colo., pleaded guilty to bribery charges for his role in the theft of fuel at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Fenty, near Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
Weaver’s plea is the second guilty plea arising from an investigation into fuel thefts at FOB Fenty. On Aug. 3, 2012, Weaver’s co-conspirator, Jonathan Hightower, 30, of Houston, pleaded guilty for his role in the scheme.
According to court documents, from approximately January 2010 through June 2010, Weaver and Hightower were involved in overseeing the delivery of fuel from FOB Fenty to other military bases. As part of this process, documents generally described as "transportation movement requests" (TMRs) were created, which authorized the movement of the fuel.
Weaver pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy in which fraudulent TMRs, which purported to authorize the transport of fuel from FOB Fenty to other military bases, were created even though no legitimate fuel transportation was required.
After the trucks were filled with fuel, these fraudulent documents were used by the drivers of the fuel trucks at FOB Fenty’s departure checkpoint in order to justify the trucks’ departures from FOB Fenty. In truth, according to court documents, the fuel was simply stolen.
Weaver pleaded guilty to receiving payments from a representative of a military contractor that was responsible for transporting fuel in Afghanistan in exchange for facilitating the theft of approximately 100 fuel trucks.
According to Weaver’s signed plea agreement, the loss to the United States as a result of the scheme was in excess of $1.5 million. Weaver sent cash back from Afghanistan to the United States, in part, by mailing the money inside a stuffed bear.
Hightower, who worked in Afghanistan as an employee of FLUOR Inc., a U.S. government contractor, from January 2010 to June 2010, also pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to receive bribes.
The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark W. Pletcher of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, formerly of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and Special Trial Attorney Mark H. Dubester of the Fraud Section.
The investigation was conducted by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction; the Department of the Army, Criminal Investigations Division; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the FBI; and the Department of the Air Force, Office of Special Investigations.
The guilty pleas are a significant blow to the perpetrators of this egregious crime, and serve as a reminder of the importance of accountability and transparency in government contracting.
Key Facts
- State: Colorado
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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