Thursday, March 5, 2009

Army captain charged with stealing $690,000

An Army captain stationed at Fort Lewis has been charged with stealing nearly $700,000 from the government while he was serving in Iraq.

PORTLAND, Ore.

An Army captain stationed at Fort Lewis has been charged with stealing nearly $700,000 from the government while he was serving in Iraq.

A federal grand jury in Portland indicted Capt. Michael Dung Nguyen on charges of theft of government property, money laundering and structuring financial transactions.

The indictment alleges that between April 2007 and February, the 28-year-old Nguyen stole more than $690,000 in U.S. currency entrusted to him as the battalion civil affairs officer in Muqdadiyah, Iraq.

Prosecutors say the funds were designated for local commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan to respond to urgent humanitarian relief and reconstruction.

The indictment resulted from an Internal Revenue Service investigation after IRS agents tracked large cash deposits.

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