UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff,
v.
ELIE SAMIR CHIDIAC &
RAMAN INTERNATIONAL, INC.
d/b/a RAMAN CORPORATION,
Defendants.
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FILED UNDER
SEAL Jan. 23,2008
Seal Lifted: Jan. 28, 2008
INDICTMENT
Case No. CR 08-033 D
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| Violations: |
18 U.S.C. § 371
18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C)
28 U.S.C. § 2461(c) |
THE FEDERAL GRAND JURY CHARGES THAT:
INTRODUCTION
1. RAMAN INTERNATIONAL, INC., d/b/a RAMAN CORPORATION ("RAMAN") is a Texas
corporation, principally located at 17423 Wild Rose Trail, Cypress, Texas
77065. RAMAN is a military contractor, doing business with the United
States Department of Defense ("DOD") at Camp Victory and elsewhere in
Iraq.
2. ELIE SAMIR CHIDIAC ("CHIDIAC"), a United States citizen, was the
Iraq manager for RAMAN from at least May 2006 until in or about May
2007.
3. From in or about April 2006 until in or about February 2007, Person
A was a Major in the U.S. Army Reserves, deployed as a Contracting Officer
to Camp Victory, Iraq. As a Contracting Officer, Person A was responsible
for awarding and administering contracts for goods and services on behalf
of the United States in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. During the
relevant period, Person A was a public official within the meaning of
18 U.S.C. § 201(a)(1). Prior to deployment, Person A's last known
residence was in the Western District of Oklahoma.
4. Other co-conspirators not made defendants in this Indictment participated
in the offenses charged and performed acts and made statements in furtherance
thereof.
5. Whenever in this Indictment reference is made to any act, deed
or transaction of any corporation, the allegation means that the corporation
engaged in the act, deed, or transaction by or through its officers,
directors, agents, employees, or other representatives while they were
actively engaged in the management, direction, control or transaction
of its business or affairs.
COUNT ONE
Conspiracy
18 U.S.C. § 371
6. Paragraphs 1-5 are hereby re-alleged and incorporated
by reference as though set forth in full in Count One.
7. From in or about May 2006 until at least March 2007, at Camp Victory,
Iraq, the Western District of Oklahoma, and elsewhere, the defendants
herein,
ELIE SAMIR CHIDIAC, and
RAMAN INTERNATIONAL, INC.,
did knowingly, willfully, unlawfully, and interdependently combine,
conspire, confederate, and agree with conspirators, known and unknown
to the grand jury, to commit an offense against the United States, namely
bribery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 201, by:
- directly and indirectly, corruptly giving, offering, and promising
a thing of value to a public official, with the intent to influence
official acts and with the intent to induce a public official to do
and omit to do acts in violation of the lawful duty of such official;
in particular, RAMAN and CHIDIAC gave, offered, and promised money
and a Harley Davidson motorcycle to Person A with the intent to influence
Person A to award contracts to RAMAN.
OBJECT OF THE CONSPIRACY
8. The charged conspiracy consisted of a continuing agreement, understanding,
and concert of action among RAMAN, CHIDIAC, Person A, and others, the
substantial terms of which were to obtain money falsely and fraudulently
from the United States through the award of, and subsequent payment
for, contracts awarded to RAMAN.
MANNER AND MEANS OF THE CONSPIRACY
9. For the purpose of forming and carrying out the charged conspiracy,
RAMAN and CHIDIAC and their co-conspirators did those things that they
combined, conspired, confederated, and agreed to do, including, among
other things:
- Person A conveyed sensitive, contract-related information, including
the government's pre-award price estimate, to RAMAN and otherwise
assisted RAMAN and CHIDIAC in preparing RAMAN's bids for contracts;
- Person A would and did use her official position as a Contracting
Officer at Camp Victory to award contracts to RAMAN;
- upon performance of these contracts, CHIDIAC obtained payment on
RAMAN's behalf from the United States, and in turn, CHIDIAC remitted
a portion of the profit on each contract back to Person A, although
Person A did not know prior to receiving the money how much money
would be received for each contract;
- Person A sent the money received from RAMAN and CHIDIAC via United
States Postal Service to Person A's mother in the Western District
of Oklahoma; and
- an executive of RAMAN [hereinafter "R-1"] purchased for Person A
a 2003 Harley Davidson Fixed Wing Anniversary Edition motorcycle,
which he had delivered to Person A's mother's residence in the Western
District of Oklahoma.
OVERT ACTS
10. In furtherance of the conspiracy and to effect its illegal objects
and purposes, on or about the dates listed below, at Camp Victory, Iraq,
the Western District of Oklahoma, and elsewhere, RAMAN and CHIDIAC and
their co-conspirators committed and caused to be committed the following
overt acts, among others:
- in or about May 2006, CHIDIAC approached Person A with $40,000
in cash, a portion of which CHIDIAC gave Person A, stating that the
money was Person A's "share" of RAMAN's profits on certain contracts
Person A had awarded to RAMAN;
- between in or about June 2006 and in or about February 2007, as
a Contracting Officer at Camp Victory, Person A awarded numerous contracts
to RAMAN;
- on multiple occasions between in or about June 2006 and in or about
February 2007, following payment for a contract, CHIDIAC, on behalf
of RAMAN, remitted a portion of the profit on the contract back to
Person A;
- in or about October 2006, R-1 purchased for Person A a Harley Davidson
motorcycle, which he had delivered on October 11, 2006 to Person A's
mother's residence in the Western District of Oklahoma;
- on or about October 11, 2006, a second executive of RAMAN emailed
Person A to confirm delivery of the Harley Davidson to Person A's
mother's residence, writing in this email: "The eagle has landed!!";
and
- on or about March 22, 2007, Person A sent an email to Person A's
mother in the Western District of Oklahoma accounting for approximately
$370,000.00 which Person A had mailed to Person A's mother via the
United States Postal Service, a portion of which was the money paid
to her by RAMAN and CHIDIAC as her share of the profits on these contracts.
All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section
371.
COUNT TWO
Conspiracy
18 U.S.C. § 371
11. Paragraphs 1-4 are hereby re-alleged and incorporated
by reference as though set forth in full in Count Two.
12. From in or about November 2006 until at least March 2007, at Camp
Victory, Iraq, the Western District of Oklahoma, and elsewhere, the
defendant herein,
ELIE SAMIR CHIDIAC
did knowingly, willfully, unlawfully, and interdependently combine,
conspire, confederate, and agree with conspirators, known and unknown
to the grand jury, to commit an offense against the United States, namely
bribery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 201, by:
- directly and indirectly, corruptly giving, offering, and promising
a thing of value to a public official with the intent to influence
official acts and with the intent to influence a public official to
commit and aid in committing and collude in and allow fraud on the
United States; in particular, CHIDIAC knowingly and willfully, directly
and indirectly, corruptly gave, offered, and promised money to Person
A, a public official, with the intent to influence Person A to cancel
contracts that were held by third party contractors; re-award the
contracts to RAMAN, designating CHIDIAC as RAMAN's putative agent;
and authorize CHIDIAC to receive cash payment on these contracts,
despite the fact that neither CHIDIAC nor RAMAN performed any service
or delivered any good on these contracts.
OBJECT OF THE CONSPIRACY
13. The charged conspiracy consisted of a continuing agreement, understanding,
and concert of action among CHIDIAC, Person A, and others, the substantial
terms of which were to obtain money falsely and fraudulently from the
United States.
MANNER AND MEANS OF THE CONSPIRACY
14. For the purpose of forming and carrying out the charged conspiracy,
CHIDIAC and his co-conspirators did those things that they combined,
conspired, confederated, and agreed to do, including, among other things:
- Person A canceled contracts that were already awarded to and often
had been performed by third party contractors;
- Person A re-awarded those contracts to RAMAN and fraudulently verified
that RAMAN had performed the requisite service or delivered the requisite
goods, and thus, that the contract had been satisfactorily completed
by RAMAN;
- CHIDIAC and Person A forged various contracting documents and fraudulently
modified the military contracting database in order to create the
appearance of propriety with respect to these canceled and re-awarded
contracts;
- Person A authorized CHIDIAC to receive cash payment on those contracts,
which CHIDIAC did, despite that neither CHIDIAC nor RAMAN performed
any work, provided any service, or delivered any good with respect
to these contracts;
- upon receipt of cash payment from the United States, typically in
U.S. one hundred dollar bills, CHIDIAC remitted a portion of the money
back to Person A, often delivering the money to Person A at RAMAN's
compound, adjacent to Camp Victory; and
- Person A sent the money received from CHIDIAC via United States
Postal Service to Person A's mother in the Western District of Oklahoma.
OVERT ACTS
15. In furtherance of the conspiracy and to effect its illegal objects
and purposes, on or about the dates listed below, at Camp Victory, Iraq,
the Western District of Oklahoma, and elsewhere, CHIDIAC and his co-conspirators
committed and caused to be committed the following overt acts, among
others:
- in or about February 2007, Person A canceled contract W91GEU-06-P-1822
for communications equipment, re-awarded it to RAMAN, and authorized
CHIDIAC to receive payment in cash on contract W91GEU-06-P-1822 in
the amount of $398,918.00;
- in or about February 2007, Person A forged a government receiving
report Form DD250 fraudulently verifying the receipt
of the goods on contract W91GEU-06-P-1822 from RAMAN, although RAMAN
had provided no services and delivered no goods;
- on or about February 6, 2007, CHIDIAC received cash payment on contract
W91GEU-06-P-1822 in U.S. one hundred dollar bills;
- on or about February 6, 2007, Person A met with CHIDIAC at RAMAN's
compound, adjacent to Camp Victory, where CHIDIAC had the $398,918.00
in cash stacked on a table, half of which he gave to Person A and
half of which CHIDIAC kept;
- from in or about November 2006 until in or about February 2007,
Person A similarly canceled and re-awarded contract W91GEU-06-P-1036,
for networking equipment, worth $109,042.83; and contracts W91GEU-06-P-1630
and W91GEU-06-P-1685, for communications and networking equipment,
worth $180,000.00; and authorized CHIDIAC to receive cash payment
on each of these contracts;
- from in or about November 2006 until in or about February 2007,
CHIDIAC received cash payment on contracts W91GEU-06-P-1036, W91GEU-06-P-1630,
and W91GEU-06-P-1685, worth cumulatively $289,042.83, although neither
he nor RAMAN performed any services or delivered any goods as required
by these contracts; and
- on or about March 22, 2007, Person A sent an email to Person A's
mother in the Western District of Oklahoma accounting for approximately
$370,000.00 which Person A had mailed to Person A's mother via the
United States Postal Service, a portion of which was Person A's share
of the money CHIDIAC received on these canceled and re-awarded contracts.
All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section
371, and pursuant to the extraterritorial venue provisions
in Title 18, United States Code, Section 3238.
FORFEITURE
16. The allegations contained in Counts One and Two of this Indictment
are hereby realleged and incorporated by reference for the purpose of
alleging forfeitures pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C)
and 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c). Upon conviction of the offenses set forth
in Counts One and Two of this Indictment, RAMAN and CHIDIAC shall forfeit
to the United States, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C)
and 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c), any property, real or personal, which
constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to the offenses.
17. If any of the property described above, as a result of any act
or omission of the defendants: (a) cannot be located upon the exercise
of due diligence; (b) has been transferred or sold to, or deposited
with, a third party; (c) has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of
the Court; (d) has been substantially diminished in value; or (e) has
been commingled with other property which cannot be divided without
difficulty, the United States shall be entitled to forfeiture of substitute
property pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 853(p), as incorporated by 28
U.S.C. § 2461(c).
ALL PURSUANT TO TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE, SECTION 981(a)(1)(C)
AND TITLE 28, UNITED STATES CODE, SECTION 2461(c).
DATED: 1-22-08
_______________/s/________________
Thomas O. Barnett
Assistant Attorney General
Antitrust Division
United States Department of Justice
_______________/s/________________
Scott D. Hammond
Deputy Assistant Attorney General
Antitrust Division
United States Department of Justice
_______________/s/________________
Marc Siegel
Director of Criminal Enforcement
Antitrust Division
United States Department of Justice |
_________________________________
FOREPERSON
_______________/s/________________
Lisa M. Phelan
Chief, National Criminal Enforcement
_______________/s/________________
Mark W. Pletcher
Calvin C. Cheung
Liz Aloi
United States Department of Justice
National Criminal Enforcement Section
1401 H Street, N.W.; Suite 3700
Washington, D.C. 20005
202-307-6186
Dated: January 22, 2008
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