5.06.2010

army captain gets prison time for stealing cash

Asian behaving badly... thievin' soldier edition! This week in Portland, Michael Dung Nguyen was sentenced to 30 months in prison for stealing nearly $700,000 from the U.S. government while serving as an Army captain in Iraq: Army captain from Fort Lewis goes to prison for theft.

Nguyen acknowledged stealing more than $690,000 entrusted to him for distribution to Iraqi humanitarian relief, rebuilding projects and security services. He pleaded guilty to theft and money laundering charges in December. Definitely not conduct expected from a West Point grad.

The judge ordered Nguyen to undergo mental health treatment, serve three years of post-prison supervision and pay back $200,000 that he spent on expensive cars and other items while trying to hid the money he stole.

According to federal investigators, during Nguyen's tour as a battalion civil affairs officer in Iraq, Nguyen peeled bills from the bundled stacks, put them in boxes and sent them to his home in Oregon. Shady.

But he apparently got caught when the IRS uncovered his purchase of a BMW, a Hummer, electronic equipment and furniture. Fool seriously didn't think anyone would notice when he came back from Iraq, suddenly a baller?

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