A US Navy officer from Florida took money to pen bogus visa suggestions for Afghans he didn’t even know, in keeping with a federal indictment.
Federal prosecutors have charged Cmdr. Jeromy Lee Pittmann, 53, of Pensacola, with bribery and conspiracy to commit visa fraud. If convicted on each counts, he faces as much as 20 years behind bars.
Based on his army information, Pittmann is a profession Seabee fight warfare officer who has been assigned since Feb. 1 as a reservist with Naval Development Battalion 22 in Port Hueneme, California.
Pittmann additionally continues to work as a civilian supervisory engineer with N4 Power Engineering Directorate at US Naval Forces Europe and Africa and the sixth Fleet in Capodichino, Italy. He has the federal basic schedule classification of GS-14.
Pittmann should notify prosecutors if he leaves Italy, in keeping with the circumstances of his launch set by a US Justice of the Peace decide in New Hampshire.
Espresso or Die Journal’s makes an attempt to achieve Pittmann on his cellular phone and civilian e mail account weren’t profitable. His prison protection lawyer didn’t reply to a message searching for remark.
Pittmann made his preliminary look throughout a 14-minute listening to in Harmony, New Hampshire, on March 11, in keeping with federal courtroom information. His subsequent listening to is slated for April 11 in Harmony.
The case is being tried in New Hampshire as a result of the US State Division’s Nationwide Visa Heart is situated in Portsmouth. It processes Particular Immigrant Visas for translators and different Afghans who aided the US throughout 20 years of warfare towards the Taliban.
The US Particular Inspector Basic for Afghanistan Reconstruction — the watchdog company that tracks waste, fraud, and abuse tied to American assist there — accused Pittmann of accepting bribes between early 2018 and September of 2020 in alternate for him drafting fraudulent letters of advice for Afghan residents searching for the particular entry visas.
Brokers mentioned Pittmann had signed greater than 20 letters on behalf of individuals he didn’t know. In a single letter, for instance, the Seabee allegedly claimed a visa applicant had served as a translator for the US Army and NATO “for a trusted native nationwide firm” and that he’d personally supervised the visa applicant for practically a yr between 2014 and 2015, verifying that he offered “trustworthy and precious service” and was “diligent, well mannered and hardworking.”
Pittmann assured the State Division that the Afghan’s life was endangered by the Taliban. However federal brokers level to an e mail Pittmann allegedly acquired on Feb. 3, 2018, from an unidentified individual asking him to jot down advice letters for 5 cousins, assuring Pittmann that they “pays for it.”
A dozen days later, Pittmann allegedly requested, “How a lot is he paying?” and the unnamed individual replied, “500 every so it’s 3 of them whole might be 1500,” plus one other “2 finish of this week will convey their ID so will probably be one other 100 I’ll have one other 5 subsequent week so might be 2500.”
“I would like to jot down one thing about what they did and the place. Similar goes for all of the others. In any other case, it doesn’t look private or skilled,” Pittmann allegedly instructed the individual.
Pittmann and the opposite individual allegedly swapped draft letters, with Pittmann at one level correcting the boilerplate format to match US State Division necessities.
A cost allegedly went to Pittmann’s USAA checking account via a Western Union wire switch invoiced for “Guide Companies” within the title of “Pittmann Enterprises, LLC” and “Jeromy Pittmann,” who was listed as knowledgeable engineer, in keeping with the prison grievance.
“I bought it immediately,” Pittmann allegedly wrote in an e mail again to Afghanistan. “Thanks and thank your buddy for sending it. I simply want the cash would maintain coming. Ha. Perhaps in the future we are going to get a enterprise began. It might be good to repay my money owed.”
Federal brokers mentioned Pittmann continued churning out different faux visa functions, with the individual in Afghanistan allegedly sending the commander’s spouse a hoop as a present.
Based on his army information, Pittmann acquired a direct fee into the Navy on Jan. 26, 2003.
His assignments included stints with Naval Development Power Assist Unit 2 in Port Hueneme; Navy Cargo Dealing with Battalion 13 and seventh Naval Development Regiment in Gulfport, Mississippi; third Naval Development Regiment in Atlanta, Georgia; European Command Headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany; and Naval Mobilization Processing Web site 14 in Portland, Maine.
Pittmann was promoted to commander on June 1, 2019.
Pittmann’s decorations embrace an Afghanistan Marketing campaign Medal with three stars; an Iraq Marketing campaign Medal; the Joint Service Commendation Medal; the Joint Service Achievement Medal; and three Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals.
He’s designated as a Fleet Marine Power officer, too.
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