A U.S. Navy Reserve Commander from Florida was sentenced to two years and six months in prison for his role in a years-long bribery scheme involving Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) for Afghan nationals, according to officials.
Jeromy Pittmann, 53, of Pensacola, took bribes from Afghan nationals to create fake recommendation letters for their U.S. visa applications, according to court documents.
These letters falsely claimed he knew and supervised the applicants as translators for the U.S. military and that they faced Taliban threats.
In reality, Pittmann had no connection to these individuals. He received thousands of dollars in bribes, which he hid by using an intermediary and fake invoices.
On July 12, a jury convicted Pittman in New Hampshire after a four-day trial of conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery making materially false writing, and conspiring to commit money laundering.
“By protecting Afghan nationals who risk their personal safety to help the U.S. government, the SIV program is essential for the security of U.S. military and diplomatic personnel in Afghanistan,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Jeromy Pittmann, however, used his position of authority over the program to benefit foreign nationals who paid him bribes, falsely asserting that they had served the United States. Today’s sentence demonstrates that the Justice Department has zero tolerance for those who place their self-interest ahead of our national security.”