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A U.S. Navy Reserve commander from Florida, Jeromy Pittmann, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for his involvement in a bribery scheme related to Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) for Afghan nationals, the Justice Department (DOJ) announced today.
Details of the Case
Pittmann, 53, of Pensacola, was convicted by a jury in the District of New Hampshire on July 12. He faced multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, making a materially false writing, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Impact on National Security
“Pittmann’s participation in this bribery scheme not only jeopardized the integrity of the SIV program, which protects our allies, but also introduced significant security risks to our nation,” stated Greg Gross, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Economic Crimes Field Office.
He emphasized, “NCIS and our partners will continue to hold accountable those who exploit government processes for personal gain, ensuring that the safety of the public and our warfighters is preserved.”
The Bribery Scheme
According to court documents, Pittmann accepted bribes from Afghan nationals in exchange for preparing and verifying fraudulent letters of recommendation for SIV applicants seeking refuge in the United States.
Court records reveal that Pittmann signed over 20 letters falsely claiming he personally knew the visa applicants, supervised their work as translators for the U.S. military and NATO, and could vouch for their loyalty and lack of security risk to the United States.
In reality, Pittmann had no connection to the applicants, and his recommendations were motivated purely by financial gain.
Financial Transactions
Pittmann received thousands of dollars in bribes for these false letters, according to court filings. To conceal his actions, he funneled the bribe payments through an intermediary and created fraudulent invoices to make the payments appear as compensation for unrelated legitimate work, as noted by the DOJ.
