UK Citizen Sentenced for Fraud Scheme. On USAID Project in Pakistan

Stephen Paul Edmund Sutton, a United Kingdom citizen, pleaded guilty and was sentenced today for his participation in a fraud scheme, perpetrated when he was employed by a contracting firm that implemented the USAID-funded Power Distribution Program in Pakistan.

According to the announcement, in 2015, Sutton, in his role as a Logistics Operations Manager, and an employee he supervised, engaged in a kickback scheme by creating two companies, obtaining project purchase orders for forklift and crane services for the companies, and distributing the profits to themselves. They arranged for low-grade local vendors to provide the services for at least half the contract rates, and Sutton ensured that the company paid the invoices despite suspicions raised by an accounts payable officer. U.S. government sentencing documents indicate the agency was defrauded of almost $100,000 and that for his part, Sutton received at least $21,000 in kickbacks. After fighting extradition for more than two years, Sutton was extradited to the United States. He was sentenced to time-served and one day of supervised release.

Read the announcement here.