Date: 08-17-2017

Case Style:

Case Number: 3:17-cr-30041-RM-TSH

Judge: Richard Mills

Court: United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois (Peoria County)

Plaintiff's Attorney: Adam C. Korn and Paul B. Morris

Defendant's Attorney: Dan Noll

Description: Peoria, IL - Former Employee of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Afghanistan Pleads Guilty to Soliciting Approximately $320,000 in Bribes from Contractors

A former employee of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) based in Afghanistan pleaded guilty on July 26, 2017 to soliciting approximately $320,000 in bribes from Afghan contractors in return for his assistance in U.S. government contracts.

Mark E. Miller, 48, of Springfield, Ill., was charged in an Information filed on July 18, in the Central District of Illinois with one count of seeking and receiving bribes. He pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tom Schanzle-Haskins in Springfield, Illinois. Miller is scheduled to be sentenced on November 30, by U.S. District Judge Richard H. Mills.

During the hearing, Miller admitted that he worked for the USACE from 2005 until 2015, including in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2012. During that time, Miller maintained a residence in Springfield. From February 2009 to October 2011, Miller was assigned to a military base, Camp Clark, in eastern Afghanistan. While in Afghanistan, Miller was the site manager and a contracting officer representative for a number of construction projects.

Miller further admitted that on Dec. 10, 2009, the USACE awarded a contract worth approximately $2.9 million to an Afghan construction company for the construction of a road from eastern Afghanistan to the Pakistani border. This contract later increased in value to approximately $8,142,300. Miller admitted that he oversaw the work of the Afghan company on this road project, including verifying that the company performed the work called for by the contract and authorizing progress payments to the company by the USACE.

Miller admitted that, in the course of overseeing the contract with the Afghan company, he solicited approximately $280,000 in bribes from the owners of the company, in return for assisting the company in connection with the road project, including making sure the contract was not terminated. Miller further admitted that, after the contract was no longer active, he solicited an additional $40,000 in bribes in return for the possibility of future contract work and other benefits.

This matter was investigated by the FBI, DCIS, SIGAR and Army CID-MPFU.

Outcome: Guilty

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Defendant's Experts:

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