Military Civilian Contractor Indicted for Allegedly Soliciting Bribes While Working at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait

Nov. 20, 2007 -- WASHINGTON – A civilian contractor from Georgia has been indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia for allegedly soliciting bribes while working at Camp Arifjan, an Army base in Kuwait, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today.

The indictment returned this morning charges Terry Hall, 41, of Rex, Georgia, with one count of bribery.

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Hall was arrested in Atlanta on a criminal complaint charging bribery on Nov. 15, 2007. The indictment alleges that Hall paid money and other things of value to a U.S. military contracting officer assigned to Camp Arifjan, a U.S. Army base in Kuwait, in order to influence the actions of that officer, including the awarding of contracts.

Hall operated companies that had contracts with the U.S. military in Kuwait, including Freedom Consulting and Catering Co., U.S. Eagles Services Corp., and Total Government Allegiance. According to the indictment, those companies received more than $20 million worth of military contracts for providing, among other things, bottled water to the U.S. military in Kuwait.

The indictment alleges that an Army Major who served as an Army contracting officer at Camp Arifjan in 2005 and 2006 made over $10 million worth of calls on a blanket purchase agreement for bottled water in Kuwait in favor of companies operated by Hall. Beginning in January 2005 through at least the fall of 2006, Hall allegedly offered and paid money to the Army Major to influence the Major’s official acts, including the awarding of the bottled water blanket purchase agreements and related calls.

If convicted of the bribery charge, Hall faces up to 15 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and supervised release. The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of any property or money involved in the alleged offense.

An indictment is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty at trial beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is being prosecuted by trial attorneys from the Public Integrity Section, headed by Section Chief William Welch, of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division together with attorneys from the Antitrust Division, National Criminal Enforcement Section, headed by Section Chief Lisa Phelan. These cases are being investigated by Army Criminal Investigation Division and Defense Criminal Investigation Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General, the Special Inspector General for Iraqi Reconstruction and the IRS. The investigations are continuing.

In October 2006, the Department of Justice announced the formation of a National Procurement Fraud Task Force designed to promote the early detection, identification, prevention and prosecution of procurement fraud associated with the increase in government contracting activity for national security and other government programs. The Procurement Fraud Task Force – chaired by Assistant Attorney General Fisher – includes the United States Attorneys’ Offices, the FBI, the U.S. Inspectors General community, and a number of other federal law enforcement agencies. The cases brought by members of the Task Force demonstrate the Department of Justice’s commitment to helping ensure the integrity of the government procurement process.

Source: DOJ