Largest money-laundering scheme of Iraq war

Army Major John Cockerham, his wife and sister are charged with taking part in a money-laundering scheme involving Defense Department contractors.  Like a scheme reminiscent of the movie Three Kings, Cockerham, who was stationed in Kuwait, is accused of taking $9.6 million in bribes from eight contractors, and attempting to put them in offshore accounts:

Maj. Cockerham is accused of guaranteeing that contractors wouldreceive lucrative contracts in exchange for cash deposited in bankaccounts and safe deposit boxes by his wife and sister in Kuwait andDubai.

The charges include bribery, conspiracy, money laundering and obstruction.

This is the largest money-laundering scheme of the Iraq war.  And as TPM adds, it's like something out of a spy movie:

It's a picaresque story involving crookedKuwaiti and Emirati businessmen with codenames like "Mr. and Mrs.Pastry." In 2004 and 2005, according to the complaint, Cockerham, hiswife and his sister, took $9.6 million in bribes, kept in safe-depositboxes in a number of Persian-Gulf cities, in exchange for contracts forthings like drinking water.

If convicted, the penalties will be significant:

All three defendants face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000 for the charge of money laundering conspiracy, and up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each of the conspiracy counts.  Major Cockerham also faces up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the charge of bribery.

Regardless of the positive PR in their hometown, it doesn't look like they will get out of this one.