JURIST - Paper Chase: Ex-CIA official pleads guilty to wire fraud in defense contract corruption case

[JURIST] Former CIA executive director Kyle Foggo [JURIST news archive] pleaded guilty Monday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to one count of wire fraud [18 USC s. 1343 text] relating to charges that he accepted bribes in return for granting federal defense contracts. Foggo was originally indicted [text, PDF; JURIST report] in February 2007 on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering in connection with allegations that his friend and defense contractor Brent Wilkes [Newsweek profile] gave him gifts and promised him a job in return for the granting of CIA defense contracts. In May 2008 the indictment was amended [indictment, PDF] to include counts of conflict of interest and additional counts of fraud, but following Foggo's guilty plea Monday, prosecutors agreed to drop the other charges against him. Foggo could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, but the prosecutors said they will recommend a jail sentence of no longer than 37 months. Sentencing is scheduled for January 8. The Washington Post has more. The New York Times has additional coverage.

In November 2007, Wilkes was convicted [JURIST report] of 13 felonies, including money laundering, fraud, and conspiracy, in connection with bribes he paid to former congressman Randy Cunningham [official profile]. Both Wilkes and Foggo came under investigation when Cunningham pleaded guilty in 2005 [JURIST report] to taking $2.4 million in bribes in return for federal contracts.

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