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USAID Information:
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Mozambique Citizen Pleads Guilty in Theft of $200,000 From USAID Mission and U.S. Embassy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 12, 2006
0104-06-002
Press Office: 202-712-4320
Public Information: 202-712-4810
www.usaid.gov
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced today that Muftar Ali, a citizen of Mozambique, pled guilty to stealing $200,000 from the USAID Mission and the U.S. Embassy located in Maputo, Mozambique. Ali entered his guilty plea in the U.S. Federal District Court in Charleston, South Carolina, on December 29, 2005, before Judge Patrick Michael Duffy. As a result of his plea, Ali faces penalties which include a maximum fine of $250,000.00 and/or imprisonment for up to 10 years.
Evidence presented at the guilty plea hearing established that Ali committed the thefts over a two-year period from 2003 to 2005 when he worked as a cashier for both the American Embassy and the USAID Mission.
The case against Ali was jointly investigated by the OIGs for USAID and the Department of State (DOS), with support provided by the DOS Diplomatic Security Service.
The prosecution was undertaken in South Carolina because the DOS Financial Services Center, which provides accounting services for both the embassy and the mission victimized by Ali, is located in Charleston.
In announcing the guilty plea, Acting Deputy Inspector General Paula F. Hayes commended Assistant United States Attorney Brent Alan Gray of Charleston, S.C., for his "hard work and dedicated pursuit of justice in leading the prosecution of this matter."
The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years.
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