Blog 100 Blog 100 US Army Civilian Translator Faheem Salam Charged

13. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2006 WWW.USDOJ.GOV U.S. Civilian Translator Arrested For Offering Bribe To Iraqi Police Official CRM (202) 514-2007 TDD (202) 514-1888 WASHINGTON, D.C. – An employee of a government contractor working in Iraq has been arrested on a charge of offering to bribe an Iraqi police official, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Wainstein of the District of Columbia announced today. Faheem Mousa Salam, 27, of Livonia, Michigan, was arrested at Dulles International Airport Thursday upon returning from Iraq. He was charged with offering to bribe a foreign official under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Salam is a naturalized U.S. citizen employed by Titan Corporation, and had been living in Baghdad, Iraq. According to a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia, Salam offered a senior Iraqi police official approximately $60,000 for the official’s assistance with facilitating the purchase by a police training organization of approximately 1,000 armored vests and a sophisticated map printer for approximately $1 million. The complaint alleges that Salam later made final arrangements with an undercover agent of the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction – posing as a procurement officer for the multinational Civilian Police Assistance Training Team (CPATT) in Iraq – for the map printer and vests, along with a separate $28,000 to $35,000 “gift” to process the contracts. The maximum sentence for a charge of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is five years in prison plus a $100,000 fine or twice the gross gain, whichever is greater. A criminal complaint is merely and accusation and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law. The case is being prosecuted jointly by Fraud Section Deputy Chief Mark Mendelsohn and Trial Attorney Stacy Luck of the Criminal Division, Department of Justice, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Roth, Chief of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section, and Jonathan Rosen of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. The case is being investigated by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. ### 06-171

14. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, 2006 WWW.USDOJ.GOV CRM (202) 514-2007 TDD (202) 514-1888 U.S. Civilian Translator Pleads Guilty to Offering Bribe to Iraqi Police Official WASHINGTON – Faheem Mousa Salam, a former employee of a government contractor working in Iraq, has pleaded guilty to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by offering to bribe an Iraqi police official, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Wainstein of the District of Columbia announced today. The plea was accepted today by the Hon. Judge Richard J. Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. During his guilty plea hearing, Salam admitted that in January 2006, he offered a senior Iraqi police official approximately $60,000 in exchange for the official’s assistance with facilitating the sale of approximately 1,000 armored vests and a sophisticated map printer for approximately $1 million. Salam requested the official use his position with the Iraqi police force to coordinate the sale of the materiel to the multinational Civilian Police Assistance Training Team (CPATT), an organization designed to train the Iraqi police and border guard in Iraq. Salam admitted that he later made final arrangements with an undercover agent of the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction who was posing as a procurement officer for CPATT. Salam admitted that during the subsequent discussions with the undercover agent he offered a separate $28,000 to $35,000 “gift” to the agent to process the contracts. The maximum sentence for a charge of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is five years in prison plus a $100,000 fine or twice the gross gain, whichever is greater. The case is being prosecuted jointly by Fraud Section Deputy Chief Mark Mendelsohn and Trial Attorney Stacey Luck of the Criminal Division, Department of Justice, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley Weinsheimer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. The case was investigated by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. ### 06-500

15. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2007 WWW.USDOJ.GOV U.S. Civilian Translator Sentenced for Offering Bribes to Iraqi and U.S. Officials while Working in Adnon Palace in Baghdad CRM (202) 514-2007 TDD (202) 514-1888 WASHINGTON – A former U.S. army civilian translator was sentenced to three years in prison for attempting to bribe a senior Iraqi police official in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor of the District of Columbia announced today. Faheem Mousa Salam, 29, of Livonia, Mich., a U.S. citizen, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by the Hon. Judge Richard J. Leon. Salam was arrested on March 23, 2006 at the Dulles International Airport upon his return from Iraq, and pleaded guilty on August 4, 2006 to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Salam admitted that in January 2006, while working in Baghdad as a civilian translator for a U.S. army subcontractor, he offered a senior Iraqi police official $60,000 in exchange for the official’s assistance in facilitating the purchase of 1,000 armored vests and a sophisticated map printer for a sale price of approximately $1 million. Salam requested the official use his position with the Iraqi police force to coordinate the sale of the material to the multinational Civilian Police Assistance Training Team (CPATT), an organization designed to train the Iraqi police and border guard in Iraq. Salam admitted that he later made final arrangements with an undercover agent of the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction who was posing as a procurement officer for CPATT. Salam admitted that during the subsequent discussions with the undercover agent he offered a separate $28,000 to $35,000 “gift” to the agent to process the contracts. At sentencing, the government argued that Salam was motivated by greed and the prospect of financial gain, rather than any desire to provide the Iraqi troops with equipment; in fact, Salam made no attempt to check the brand names, quality or source of the vests, demonstrating that his motives were anything but altruistic. The case is being prosecuted jointly by the Criminal Division's Fraud Section Deputy Chief Mark F. Mendelsohn and Trial Attorney Stacey Luck and Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Bradley Weinsheimer. The case was investigated by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. ### 07-068