U.S. Navy Officer Found Guilty Of Bribery Involving Special Immigrant Visas For Afghan Nationals

Naval officer — Image for representation purposes only

A federal jury has convicted a US Navy reserve commander of various criminal charges in connection with a bribery scheme involving Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) for Afghan nationals.

This marks the first trial conviction related to the Afghan Allies Protection Act.

Jeromy Pittmann, 53, of Pensacola, Florida, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit bribery and false writing, bribery and conspiracy to conceal money laundering.

Pittmann, a civil engineer officer in the Navy, was suspected of accepting bribes from Afghan nationals in exchange for drafting, submitting, and falsely certifying letters of recommendation for SIV applications to the US Department of State.

According to court documents and trial evidence, Pittmann signed over 20 fake letters claiming to know and supervise Afghan nationals requesting SIVs.

These letters disguised the applicants as translators for US military troops, claiming that their lives were in danger from the Taliban but that they posed no threat to US national security. In reality, Pittmann knew nothing about the applicants.

Pittmann received several thousand dollars in bribes in exchange for his illegal services, which were conducted through an intermediary. He generated fraudulent invoices that disguised the money as actual wages unrelated to his military service.

In a 2018 email to the broker, Pittmann reiterated his desire for continuing payments, stating that he wants the money to keep coming and that they may someday start a business so that it will be nice to pay off his debts.

Pittmann is set to be sentenced on October 21 and face a maximum of 45 years in jail.

A federal district court judge will decide the final sentence based on the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory circumstances.

The case was investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).

The case is being prosecuted by trial attorneys Matt Kahn and Theodore M. Kneller from the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

The conviction was announced jointly by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, Inspector General Robert P. Storch of the Department of Defense, Inspector General John F. Sopko of SIGAR, and Special Agent in Charge Greg Gross of NCIS’s Economic Crimes Field Office, emphasizing the importance of preserving the SIV program’s integrity.

Reference: US Navy

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