Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A Virginia man pleaded guilty today to a money laundering conspiracy involving funds embezzled from the Embassy of Kuwait’s health office in Washington, D.C.
According to court documents, from approximately January through September 2014, Ahmed El Khebki, aka Ahmed Khider El Khebki, of Lorton, conspired to launder money embezzled from the Kuwaiti Embassy. El Khebki and his co-conspirators stole money from the embassy’s health office earmarked to pay for medical care for Kuwaiti citizens who traveled to the United States to receive treatment at, among other places, Johns Hopkins Hospital and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.
To embezzle and launder the funds, El Khebki and his co-conspirators created fake companies with names meant to mimic actual U.S. healthcare providers, including “Hopiken” and “MedStar.” The co-conspirators then submitted fraudulent invoices to the health office, claiming that they had provided medical services to real Kuwaiti citizens under the auspices of those fake companies. Employees at the health office in the embassy who were in on the scheme approved the invoices and wrote checks to El Khebki and his co-conspirators’ fake companies. During the course of the conspiracy, the health office paid more than $1.5 million in fraudulent invoices. El Khebki personally deposited hundreds of thousands of dollars of stolen funds into accounts he controlled and used the stolen funds to make numerous personal purchases.
El Khebki joins two co-conspirators, Wael Sedik and Huwida Fadl, in pleading guilty for his role in the conspiracy. El Khebki’s co-defendant and co-conspirator Hussein Fadl Osman remains at large.
El Khebki pleaded guilty to money laundering. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 24 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C. made the announcement.
HSI investigated the case.
Senior Trial Attorney Jonathan Baum and Trial Attorney Shai D. Bronshtein of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) are prosecuting the case as part of the department’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative.
The Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative in MLARS was formed to prosecute money launderers and forfeit the proceeds of foreign official corruption and, where appropriate, to use those recovered assets to benefit the people harmed by the corruption and abuse of office. Individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption located in or laundered through the United States should contact federal law enforcement or send an email to kleptocracy@usdoj.gov.