A Nigerian citizen serving with the American Military have been sentenced to 2years, nine months in prison for stealing more than $2.7 million from a United States Government bank account while they were on active duty in the United States Army stationed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“This was an egregious abuse of trust by the former U.S. Army soldiers who had access to millions of dollars of government money,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn. “His conduct betrayed the trust and honor as servicemember and took substantial funds away from the United States Military Training Mission in Saudi Arabia.”
J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated: “While the sentencing of the former U.S. Army Captain Sunday Omion will finally hold hum accountable for the criminal actions in stealing over two million dollars in government monies, it remains to be seen if the will be able to repay the government in spite of the fact that, as part of the sentencing, hewas ordered by the court to do so. While he was stationed in Saudi Arabia, his purpose as Finance Officer was to support the war fighter through the U.S. Military Training Mission. He, instead, literally sent boxes of U.S. cash back to the States for is 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. The FBI will continue to work with its military components in ensuring that U.S. funds designated for military use are used as intended and not diverted to personal bank accounts as was seen in this case.”
“Instead of serving their country honorably while stationed overseas in a sensitive assignment, the U.S. Army finance officer betrayed it by abusing hisposition of trust and embezzling more than $2.7 million in American taxpayer funds,” said John F. Khin, Special Agent in Charge, Southeast Field Office, Defense Criminal Investigative Service. “This sentencing should serve as a constant reminder that DCIS and our law enforcement partners will relentlessly pursue corruption, fraud, and abuse within Department of Defense programs anywhere in the world, and bring violators to justice.”
“This sentencing is another great example of the work our special agents do on a daily basis,” said Frank Robey, the director of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command's Major Procurement Fraud Unit. “The defendants attempted to profit by compromising the readiness of our servicemembers during a time of war, but this joint investigation unraveled his scheme and now he is being held responsible for betraying the trust placed in him.”
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: Sunday Omion served as the Finance Officer, for the United States Military Training Mission in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 2018 to 2020. As part of his duties in the Finance Office, He had access to a U.S. government bank account that was held at the Saudi American Bank.
In June 2018, the defendant withdrew approximately $1.2 million in cash from the bank account and kept those funds for his own benefit. In August 2018, he made another withdrawal of more than $1.5 million in cash, and again kept the funds for his 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.
Sunday Omion has been sentenced to two years, nine months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,216,617.97 after he pleaded guilty.
This case was investigated by the United States Army Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General.
Assistant United States Attorney Jamie Mickelson prosecuted the case.
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