Justice Dept. says Army Capt. Minter and accomplice ‘sent boxes of U.S. cash back to the states for their own gain’
A former U.S. Army soldier from Fayetteville has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison for stealing more than $2.7 million from a U.S. government bank account in 2006 while stationed in Saudi Arabia.
Former Capt. Jasen Minter, 44, of Fayetteville, and former Sgt. First Class Louis E. Nock, 48, of Orlando, Fla., were each sentenced to four years, nine months in prison and order to pay restitution of $2.2 million, according to acting U.S. Attorney John A. Horn in Atlanta.
Horn said Minter and Nock served as the finance officer and deputy finance officer, respectively, for the United States Military Training Mission in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from 2006 to 2007. As part of their duties in the finance office, Minter and Nock had access to a U.S. government bank account that was held at the Saudi American Bank.
“In June 2006, the defendants withdrew approximately $1.2 million in cash from the bank account and kept those funds for their own benefit,” said Horn.
“In August 2006, they made another withdrawal of more than $1.5 million in cash, and again kept the funds for their own use instead of returning them to the finance office. Before leaving Saudi Arabia, both defendants falsely affirmed in finance office records that there were no missing funds from the bank account. An audit conducted by the Department of Defense later revealed the theft of funds,” Horn said.
J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, said Minter and Nock while in Saudi Arabia “literally sent boxes of U.S. cash back to the states for their own personal gain. This has been an extensive and protracted investigation initiated by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Division and the Department of Defense – Office of Inspector General.”
Minter was convicted in November 2014 after pleading guilty. Nock was convicted after pleading guilty in January.
