A federal court has sentenced two former Army finance officers to four years and nine months in prison for embezzling more than $2.7 million that was supposed to pay for a U.S. military training mission in Saudi Arabia.
Jasen Minter, 44, and Louis Nock, 48, stole the money from a U.S. government bank account that was held at the Saudi American Bank between 2006 to 2007, according to a March 20 statement from the FBI.
The duo withdrew $1.2 million from a U.S. government bank account in June 2006 and kept those funds for their own personal use rather than returning that money to the finance office. Two months later, in August, the two men made another withdrawal an additional $1.5 million from the account, the statement says. Before leaving the country, both men “falsely affirmed in finance office records that there were no missing funds from the bank account,” the statement shows.
A Defense Department audit revealed that the $2.7 million was missing, prompting an extensive investigation by the Defense Department inspector general and U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, according to the statement. The FBI also looked into the multimillion-dollar theft.
Minter was convicted Nov. 21 of stealing funds from the government after he pleaded guilty and ordered by the court to pay restitution of $2.2 million. Nock convicted of the same crime on Jan. 5 after pleading guilty. The court also ordered Nock to pay $2.2 million in restitution.
Saudi Arabia is one of only four Arab nations that is supporting a U.S.-led military operation by dropping bombs on Islamic State targets in Syria. The large-scale operation spans over Syria and into Iraq, where additional U.S. allies are training local security forces to battle back the extremist group.
• Maggie Ybarra can be reached at mybarra@washingtontimes.com.
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