03/12/2009

News / Army Captain Indicted for Money Laundering and Theft of Government Property

Indictment Alleges Captain Stole in Excess of $690,000

PORTLAND, Ore. – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Capt. Michael Dung Nguyen, 28, of Ft. Lewis, Wash., with theft of government property, money laundering and structuring financial transactions, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon Karin J. Immergut announced today.

Nguyen was scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Papak at 1:30 p.m. PST today to answer to the charges.

The indictment alleges that between April 2007 and February 2009, while deployed to Iraq, Capt. Nguyen stole in excess of $690,000 in U.S. currency that was entrusted to him in his role as the battalion Civil Affairs Officer in Muqdadiyah. The funds stolen by Nguyen were derived from the Commander’s Emergency Response Program (CERP) funds. CERP funds were designed to enable local commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan to respond to urgent humanitarian relief and reconstruction by carrying out programs that would immediately assist the people in the region.

Nguyen is alleged to have mailed the stolen CERP money to his Oregon residence prior to his return from Iraq. The indictment further alleges that shortly after his return from Iraq, Nguyen opened new bank accounts at several banks, including Bank of America and Washington Mutual Bank, and proceeded to deposit the stolen money in a manner intended to avoid detection. After depositing the money in the accounts, Nguyen attempted to launder the stolen money by purchasing a 2008 BMW and a 2009 Hummer H3T, in addition to purchasing computers, electronics and furniture.

U.S. Attorney Karin J. Immergut stated, “As an officer of the U.S. Army and a graduate of West Point, Capt. Nguyen agreed to uphold the principles of ‘Duty, Honor, Country.’ The conduct alleged in today’s indictment is flagrant and reprehensible disregard of these principles. By stealing money intended to assist Iraqi citizens, Capt. Nguyen betrayed his country and the fine men and women of our nation’s armed services.”

An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant should be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The maximum penalty for each of the charged crimes is 10 years in prison and a fine of $500,000.

The investigation was initiated by the Portland office of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation following the discovery of large and frequent currency deposits and substantial expenditures above Captain Nguyen’s legitimate income level. The investigation was joined by the FBI, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division's Major Procurement Fraud Unit and Defense Criminal Investigative Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug.

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