WASHINGTON: An American military contractor has been imprisoned for stealing assets worth over $150,000 on a military installation in Afghanistan.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Varita V. Quincy, 35, who hailed from Georgia, confessed to stealing property including generators, a truck, and other items worth over $150,000 from a military installation with the help of her coworkers in the year 2015.
The news release further added that the convicted then negotiated the sale of the stolen items with a middleman of a third country who then facilitated the sale to an unknown group in Kandahar – a southern city in Afghanistan.
American Contractor Sentenced for Theft of Government Equipment on U.S. Military Base in Afghanistanhttps://t.co/LAJ7CWYfEW
— Justice Department (@TheJusticeDept) April 28, 2021
The U.S. military contractor admitted misusing her position to create false official documents. These documents facilitated the property theft by allowing unknown Afghan nationals and their vehicles onto the military installation, deceiving security officers and guards, and compromising the security.
She pleaded guilty last year in October to property theft and pleaded guilty for making false statements. The contractor was then sentenced to 4.5 years in prison, and bound to pay restitution totaling at least USD 180,000.
Her co-conspirator Green, who pleaded guilty to similar charges, was jailed for 3.4 years and ordered to pay the same as the main culprit in compensation.
On April 14, US president Joe Biden in his key address announced that it’s time to end America’s longest war as he confirmed the withdrawal of all remaining US troops from Afghanistan, formally ending the 20-year, largely unsuccessful effort to restore peace in south-central Asia.
Meanwhile, US troops in Afghanistan begin packing gear in pullout preparation under Biden announcement. Currently, some 2,500 US soldiers and about 7,000 allied forces are still in Afghanistan. The final phase of the withdrawal would begin May 1 and be completed before September 11.
