A former recruiter of U.S. military language interpreters
was charged in an indictment filed today for his role in an alleged scheme to
recruit unqualified language interpreters to be deployed with U.S. combat
forces in Afghanistan in 2011 and 2012, announced Assistant Attorney General
Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special
Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John F. Sopko.
Abdul Aman, 34, of Fairfax, Virginia, was charged in the
District of Maryland with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire
fraud and one count of major fraud against the United States. Aman will be arraigned on the charges on Nov.
8.
The indictment alleges that Aman, while working as a
recruiter for a U.S. government contractor, circumvented procedures designed to
ensure that candidates for jobs as language interpreters for the U.S. military
met minimum proficiency standards, which resulted in unqualified language
interpreters being hired and later deployed alongside U.S. combat forces in
Afghanistan. Aman’s employer was a
subcontractor on a multimillion-dollar Defense Department contract to supply
qualified language interpreters to support U.S. military operations around the
world. To carry out the fraud, the
indictment alleges, Aman arranged for a close associate to take language tests
for candidates who Aman knew did not meet minimum proficiency standards. Aman
allegedly obtained financial bonuses from his employer based on the number of
candidates whom his employer hired through his efforts.
This case was investigated by the Special Inspector General
for Afghanistan Reconstruction and the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigation
Command. The case is being prosecuted by
Trial Attorney Michael P. McCarthy of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
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