Image courtesy of army.milA former U.S. Army soldier was sentenced to 87 months in prison last week for stealing fuel at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Fenty in Afghanistan in exchange for bribes from a local trucking company.
U.S. Army Specialist Stephanie Charboneau, 35, of Colorado Springs, Colo. had pleaded guilty in September last year, the DOJ said.
In 2010, Charboneau was in charge of fuel deliveries from FOB Fenty to other bases in Afghanistan. Fuel was moved through “transportation movement requests,” also called TMRs or mission sheets.
Charboneau and others created phony TMRs to move fuel out of FOB Fenty and pass through checkpoints. The fuel was then sold to a trucking company, the Justice Department said.
Charboneau pleaded guilty to conspiracy and bribery for the theft of about 70 truckloads of fuel. According to court documents, the loss to the United States was more than $1.2 million.
Charboneau’s plea was the fourth guilty plea arising from the investigation of fuel thefts at FOB Fenty.
In 2012, Jonathan Hightower, a military contractor and a co-conspirator with Charboneau, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and bribery. He was sentenced to two years in prison in exchange for his coopration with the DOJ.
Another conspirator who cooperated, Christopher Weaver, pleaded guilty and was sentenced last year to 37 months in prison.
Sergeant Bilal Kevin Abduallah, who succeeded Charboneau at FOB Fenty, has also pleaded guilty to fuel theft-related charges. His sentencing is set for February 12.
The DOJ’s February 4 release is here.
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Richard L. Cassin is the Publisher and Editor of the FCPA Blog. He can be contacted here.
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