Ethics Corner

This series on ethics presents cautionary examples drawn from the DoD Standards of Conduct Office Encyclopedia of Ethical Failures.

If you have questions about ethics or are unsure about a certain course of conduct, contact the NASCC Staff Judge Advocate’s office by calling 361-961-3535.

Today’s story is about conflicts of interest:

The Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) for the Central District of California was indicted after it was discovered that on numerous occasions he had made favorable recommendations to the court, the probation office, and other prosecuting offices on behalf of cooperating witnesses and defendants in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The AUSA had accepted $98,000 from one cooperating witness who had previously been convicted in the Northern District of Texas and on whose behalf the AUSA had argued for leniency at the sentencing hearing.

In addition, he had used his official position to secure entry into the U.S. of several foreign nationals whom he believed would make substantial investments in a company in which he and his wife had a controlling financial interest.

Once the foreign nationals entered the U.S., two Iranian companies with which they were affiliated loaned a total of $860,000 to the AUSA’s company.

The AUSA pled guilty to one felony conflict of interest count, 18 U.S.C. 208, and two counts of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1343 and 1346.

He was fined $7,500 and sentenced to two years in prison plus three years of supervised release.