Iraq Fraud Cases Make Rain for LawyersPretty much anyway you slice it, these are great times for defense lawyers.
Iraq contractors are feeling the heat of Department of Justice scrutiny, and are turning to some heavy-hitters to help them out, The National Law Journal reports.
During the past year, several defense contractors hired to help rebuild Iraq have come under federal investigation or faced litigation for allegedly defrauding the government. Government officials estimate that $10 billion in Iraq-related contracts are unaccounted for and may have been lost to fraud or other misconduct.
Currently, about 80 federal investigations looking into contract fraud are under way, and more than 20 cases have been referred to the Department of Justice for prosecution, according to congressional testimony offered by federal auditors. During the last three years, contract fraud investigations have yielded 10 arrests, five indictments, five convictions and two imprisonments.
An “army” of heavy-weight lawyers are giving their contractor clients sage advice like: “don’t throw records away” and “don’t conspire with people to cook their testimony.” The advice might be working, because, so far, the hundreds of DOJ investigations have yielded fewer than a dozen indictments.
