JURIST - Paper Chase: Former US Army reserve officer sentenced for taking Iraq reconstruction bribes

[JURIST] A federal judge from the US District Court for the District of Columbia sentenced Lt. Col. Bruce D. Hopfengardner, a US Army Reserve officer, to 21 months in prison Monday and imposed a fine of $144,500 for Hopfengardner's involvement in a construction bidding and kickback scheme to defraud the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) [official website] in Iraq. Hopfengardner, who pleaded guilty [press release] last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud, used his position as a special adviser to the CPA to steer construction projects to Philip H. Bloom in exchange for cash, gifts, and even sexual favors. Hopfengardner faced a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

Prosecutors say that Bloom, who pleaded guilty [JURIST report] last April to charges of conspiracy, bribery and money laundering, received more than $8.6 million worth of rigged contracts. Bloom was sentenced to nearly four years in prison and ordered to forfeit $3.6 million in February. Another former US contractor working for the US Department of Defense [official website] in Iraq, received a nine-year prison sentence [JURIST report] in January. AP has more.

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