Of the billions of tax {dollars} spent by the U.S. Company for Worldwide Improvement Workplace (USAID) which might be being questioned by the Trump administration, thousands and thousands went to fund terrorism.
A multi-year investigation introduced by the Justice Division and U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace for the District of Columbia reveals the scope of how funds had been utilized in one latest terrorism-related case.
“The case represents one of the most significant diversions of USAID-funded humanitarian aid that USAID-OIG has investigated,” USAID’s Workplace of Inspector Common stated.
It concerned a Syrian nationwide, Mahmoud Al Hafyan, who was charged with illegally diverting greater than $9 million of taxpayer cash via USAID to armed combatant teams, together with the Al-Nusrah Entrance (ANF), a delegated overseas terrorist group affiliated with al-Qaida in Iraq.
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In accordance with the indictment, Al Hafyan led a non-governmental group (NGO) in Syria, managing 160 staff.
Since Syria’s civil conflict started in 2011, and thru 2020, U.S. taxpayers funded greater than $12 billion of USAID cash to Syria meant for meals and medical provides that was imagined to be administered by United Nations businesses and NGOs.
The NGO that Al Hafyan led obtained $122 million over a three-year interval, diverting meals kits meant for refugees to ANF commanders, in line with the grievance. ANF, preventing to overthrow the Syrian authorities, was identified for committing human rights atrocities, together with conducting mass executions of civilians, suicide bombings and kidnappings.
Al Hafyan allegedly offered the meals kits on the black market to the ANF commanders, falsifying paperwork to make it seem to be refugees had been receiving the meals.
The U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace for the District of Columbia, USAID OIG, and the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division had been concerned within the case.
“This defendant not only defrauded the U.S. government, but he also gave the humanitarian aid he stole to a foreign terrorist organization,” U.S. Legal professional Matthew Graves stated in November. “While this foreign terrorist organization fought with the cruel al-Assad regime, the people who were supposed to receive the aid suffered.”
Another examples of misuse of USAID funds prosecuted by the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace for the District of Columbia relate to a variety of fraud schemes.
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In a single case, a former government of a digital consulting agency in Delaware agreed to pay a $100,000 settlement to resolve allegations that he knowingly triggered firm staff to submit false claims to USAID with the intention to obtain authorities contracts, overbill and cost for work that was by no means carried out, in line with a 2022 grievance.
In one other case, a worldwide well being nonprofit group primarily based in San Diego agreed to pay almost $550,000 to resolve allegations that it knowingly submitted false claims to USAID to obtain grants to purportedly present agricultural and different assist to growing nations.
In one other case, the Worldwide Rescue Committee agreed to pay $6.9 million to settle allegations underneath the False Claims Act associated to USAID-funded programming associated to the civil conflict in Syria. The cash IRC obtained was meant for humanitarian help however IRC workers participated in a kickback scheme with a Turkish provide ring involving contract bid rigging as a substitute, in line with the grievance.
In one other case, a former NGO official was sentenced to 40 months in jail for paying bribes to NGO officers in trade for delicate procurement data associated to NGO contracts partially funded by USAID. On this case, for 5 years, a Turkmenistan citizen coordinated a bid-rigging scheme, instructed staff to mislead regulation enforcement brokers and destroyed emails associated to the investigation, in line with the grievance.
In one other case, a former USAID deputy director and resident of Maryland pled responsible to costs associated to a contract-steering scheme, conspiracy to defraud america and making false statements to regulation enforcement, in line with the grievance.
Syndicated with permission from The Heart Sq..
