Army sergeant and colleague charged in Kuwait bribes scheme

WASHINGTON — A US Army sergeant and his colleague took more than $170,000 in a bribes and money laundering scheme at Camp Arifjan, a US military base in Kuwait, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday.

The 11-count indictment made public in Wheeling, West Virginia, charged Sergeant First Class Richard Evick, 41, with receiving the bribes from two firms that had contracts with the Defense Department in Kuwait.

The indictment also charged Evick and colleague, Crystal Martin, 48, with laundering bribe money through US and Kuwaiti bank accounts, said Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer of the Justice Department's Criminal Division and US Attorney William Ihlenfeld of the Northern District of West Virginia.

Evick and Martin were arrested earlier.

The indictment alleged that Evick took bribes on contracts worth more than $25 million to bring bottled water and other goods to the US base.