Former Army Colonel Pleads Guilty in Bribery Scheme Involving Department of Defense Contracts in Iraq

WASHINGTON — A retired colonel in the U.S. Army pleaded guilty today for her role in a scheme aimed at influencing the award of a U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) contract at Camp Victory, Iraq in 2004 and 2005, Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division Thomas O. Barnett and Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division Matthew Friedrich announced today.

Levonda J. Selph, a U.S. citizen and resident of Virginia, pleaded guilty to a two-count information charging her with bribery and conspiracy, filed under seal on Oct. 30, 2007, and entered today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. According to the terms of the plea agreement, Selph has agreed to plead guilty, serve a jail sentence that will be determined by the court, cooperate in the government’s investigation and pay $9,000 restitution to the DOD. According to the charges, in 2005, then Lieutenant Colonel Selph served as chair of a selection board over an annual $12 million contract to build and operate several DOD warehouses in Iraq. Selph accepted fraudulent bids from a co-conspirator contracting firm and assisted that firm in winning the contract award. In return for these actions, Selph accepted a vacation to Thailand and $4,000 in cash.

Today’s charges represent the Department of Justice’s commitment to protect U.S. taxpayers from procurement fraud through the National Procurement Fraud Task Force. The National Procurement Fraud Initiative announced in October 2006 is designed to promote the early detection, identification, prevention and prosecution of procurement fraud associated with the increase in contracting activity for national security and other government programs.

This case is being prosecuted by the National Criminal Enforcement Section of the Antitrust Division and the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division. This case is being investigated by special agents of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction; the Army Criminal Investigation Division, Defense Criminal Investigative Service; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation Division. Anyone with information concerning bid rigging, bribery or other criminal conduct regarding DOD contracts is urged to call the National Criminal Enforcement Section at 202-307-6694, or the Public Integrity Section at 202-514-2000.