Navy officer convicted in Afghan visa bribery scheme

A federal jury convicted an officer within the Navy Reserves final week for his involvement in a bribery scheme to offer unknown Afghan nationals visas to america.

Cmdr. Jeromy Pittmann, 53, a civil engineer corps officer who deployed to Afghanistan in 2014 and 2015 with NATO Particular Operations Command, acquired 1000’s of {dollars} for drafting, submitting, and falsely verifying bogus letters of advice for Afghan nationals searching for a Particular Immigrant Visa that will permit them to reside within the U.S., in response to the Division of Justice.

The State Division points a restricted variety of Particular Immigrant Visas to Afghans who assisted U.S. troops and diplomats throughout the Battle in Afghanistan and served as translators.

In additional than 20 letters, Pittmann claimed that he personally knew and oversaw the Afghan nationwide visa candidates, and asserted they’d served as interpreters for the U.S. army and NATO troops. These letters additionally claimed that these applicant’s lives had been endangered by the Taliban, and affirmed his perception that they weren’t a nationwide safety menace to the U.S.

“In actuality, Pittmann didn’t know the candidates and had no foundation for recommending them for SIVs,” the Division of Justice stated in a information launch. “In change, Pittmann acquired a number of 1000’s of {dollars} in bribes.”

“To keep away from detection, Pittmann acquired the bribe cash via an middleman and created false invoices purporting to point out that he was receiving the cash for respectable work unrelated to his army service,” the Division of Justice stated.

Pittmann commissioned in 2003, and is a civil engineer corps officer, in response to service data obtained by Navy Occasions.

Pittman first appeared in federal courtroom in March 2022 on expenses of accepting bribes and conspiring to commit visa fraud. Court docket paperwork alleged Pittmann labored with an unnamed co-conspirator in Kabul who solicited Pittmann’s help again in February 2018. The paperwork point out Pittmann and the co-conspirator met throughout Pittmann’s deployment to Afghanistan in 2014 and 2015.

The cash was wired to Pittmann via a Financial institution of America account in Hayward, California, and to an account with USAA in Pensacola, Fla., beneath the label “household assist,” in response to courtroom paperwork.

“I bought it at the moment. Thanks and thank your buddy for sending it,” Pittmann stated in an electronic mail after receiving a cost in 2018, in response to courtroom paperwork. “I simply want the cash would preserve coming. Ha. Perhaps sooner or later we’ll get a enterprise began. It could be good to repay my money owed.”

Pittmann finally was convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery and false writing, bribery, false writing, and conspiracy to commit concealment cash laundering, the Justice Division stated.

Pittmann’s sentencing is slated for Oct. 21, and he faces as much as 45 years behind bars.