Bribery Scheme Rocks U.S. Military Base in Afghanistan: Ex-Staff Sergeant Pleads Guilty
WASHINGTON – In a shocking display of corruption, a former U.S. Army staff sergeant has pleaded guilty to bribery charges in connection with a fuel theft scheme that rocked a U.S. military base in Afghanistan. Stevan Nathan Ringo, 26, of Marrero, La., pleaded guilty on [no specific date] to one count of bribery.
Ringo’s guilty plea was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride of the Eastern District of Virginia.
According to court documents, Ringo was stationed at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Shank, a U.S. Army installation in the Logar Province of Eastern Afghanistan. FOB Shank supports U.S. military operations in Afghanistan in various ways, including through fuel receipt and redistribution.
Ringo’s responsibilities at FOB Shank included supervision of that fuel redistribution process. Between December 2009 and February 2010, Ringo accepted more than $400,000 in cash payments from a government contractor in exchange for creating and submitting fraudulent paperwork permitting that contractor to steal fuel from FOB Shank.
The total value of the fuel stolen in the course of the scheme was nearly $1.5 million. Ringo faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a fine of the greater of $250,000; three times the value of the payments made or solicited; or twice the value gained or lost from the scheme.
Ringo’s sentencing is set for January 7, 2011. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Ryan S. Faulconer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Edmund P. Power for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The case is being investigated by the FBI, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Division, other military law enforcement at FOB Shank, and members of the National Procurement Fraud Task Force (NPFTF) and the International Contract Corruption Task Force (ICCTF).
Related Federal Cases
- Scott Howard Jenkins, Bribery Concerning Programs Receiving Federal Funds, Virginia 2024 · District of Columbia
- Richard Evick, Bribery and Money Laundering, West Virginia 2011 · Virginia
- Daniel Brue, Wire Fraud, Illinois 2021 · Florida
- Jaliya Chitran Wickramasuriya, Embassy Building Fraud, Washington District of Columbia 2013 · Virginia
- John McKernan, Fentanyl Pill Trafficking, Virginia 2023 · Virginia
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: Public Corruption|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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