A Viet army captain is charged in federal court with theft and money laundering for allegedly stealing $690,000 in humanitarian funds while stationed in Iraq.
Captain Michael D. Nguyen, 28, based in Fort Lewis (Wash.) is alleged to have stolen the money from an emergency fund designed to respond to urgent humanitarian relief and reconstruction needs in Iraq.
The IRS special agent who investigated the case called the case a betrayal of the country. Seattle radio station KOMO here quoted Special Agent Kenneth Hines as saying “As a member of the military you take an oath, the oath of office, to defend and protect – not to line your own pockets for own personal gain.”
Nguyen, a West Point graduate, was serving as battalion civil affairs officer in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, where he allegedly had access to a safe where the emergency funds were kept. The government accused Nguyen of taking bricks of crisp, uncirculated $100 bills from the safe and mailed the cash – still in its original wrappers – to his home in Beaverton, Ore.
The indictment alleges that upon returning to the U.S. he opened new accounts at several banks and deposited the case in those accounts. (Query: Why bother?)
Anyway, so his relatives were surprised by the federal raids and the accusations. KOMO quoted the captain’s cousin Khiem Nguyen as saying “I just thought he saved a lot of money.”
when you think about it theres really no difference between what he did and what halliburton, KBR and many contractors do on a daily basis. this guy was just stupid enough to deposit the money.
Haha…What an ahole! The Army should incarcerate him for unpatriotism and wasting taxpayers’ money to attend West Point. His fellow soldiers should punish him their way…
Here is another Viet gone bad:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/tran-dao-never-2327177-house-law
Tran better be tough in the penitentiary without his weapons because them boys are looking for lady boys to love. Haha…go to hell, buddy!
My friend and I were discussing this case, the Army officer. We wanted to know which is worse, stealing from the government/society or a rich individual. Of course, both acts are wrong regardless of reasons and motives.
I feel that stealing from society is the worst conduct because assets owned by society symbolize all good faith all the citizens contribute to better ourselves. Because it is faceless and without direct supervision, society has placed its trust on these selected individuals to perform their duty with complete honesty.
I wish this individual had thought more thoroughly before committing such a bad act. Please forgive me if I sound didacitc or preachy.
United States Military Academy (West Point) : Duty, Honor, Country
Saying someone is religious, as a way to imply the person has integrity, pretending religion is always a good thing. Are we all supposed to be impressed with that almighty testament???
And there is nothing more naive than presuming a West Point graduate is always an affirmation that someone will be moral, ethical, a cadet of honor.
People in every facet of society have the same amount of good and evil in them, and the sad thing is that sometimes sh!t happens, just like the man said “I never had sex with that woman”.
If the line reduces to easy terms like “Army captain accused of stealing”, and as a consequence, the story is no longer glaring and it’s just an AWOL (A–hole With Official Leave).