By KENNETH HART
ASHLAND — A former Department of Defense interpreter and his wife have been charged by federal authorities with defrauding the government of nearly $600,000 that was supposed to have gone to a military contractor in Iraq.
Ali and Liberty Jabak of Garrison were arrested last week on wire fraud charges. The couple appeared Monday in federal court in Ashland before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward B. Atkins.
Ali Jabak, an interpreter who had worked at Forward Operating Base Falcon in Iraq, is accused of stealing $595,000 in government funds by submitting a forged invoice and electronic fund transfer request to the U.S. Army for a contract that had been awarded to an Iraqi company, Dourat Al-Arab, for the delivery and installation of 700 concrete barriers.
The barriers were ordered by the Army to protect coalition forces in Baghdad, according to court records.
Ali Jabak was familiar with Dourat Al-Arab because the owner of the company, Thrwat Tarish, who speaks little or no English, had used him as an interpreter and an intermediary. Tarish also gave Ali Jabak access to his company’s business e-mail account he used to coordinate contract matters, records state.
On Aug. 25, the Army received an invoice for the barriers from Dourat Al-Arab’s business e-mail address, along with an electronic funds transfer form instructing payment was to be wired to an account at Citzens Deposit Bank & Trust in Garrison, according to an affidavit filed in the case. The account holder was identified as Liberty’s Construction Company LLC and the form was signed by Liberty Jabak.
The payment was processed on Sept. 11, the affidavit states. About a month later, Tarish visited a contracting center in Iraq and asked about the status of his payment for the barriers. Officials showed him the invoice and EFT form and told him the payment had already been processed. Tarish maintained that did he not sign the invoice or authorize anyone else to do so on his behalf.
Tarish also told officials Liberty Jabak’s printed name and signature on the EFT form were in Ali Jabak’s handwriting. By that time, Ali Jabak had resigned his position and left Iraq.
Liberty Jabak opened the account at the Garrison bank on July 30 and told bank officials she was expecting a large sum of money to be deposited into it the near future, according to the affidavit.
Bank officials met with the Jabaks on Sept. 17 to discuss the legitimacy of the account. Ali Jabak told them he owned a construction company that built concrete barriers in Iraq and the payments were for work it performed there.
Cashier’s checks were purchased from the account to pay utility bills at Liberty Jabak’s father’s house, where Liberty Jabak lives, according to the affidavit. Also, Liberty Jabak wired $200,000 from the account to a bank in Lebanon and another $100,000 to an auto dealership in Hartford, Conn., the document states.
The Jabaks were charged following an investigation by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, a unit of the Defense Department’s Office of Inspector General.
Atkins scheduled a preliminary hearing for the Jabaks for Nov. 26. He allowed the couple to remain free on bond.
Atkins also appointed separate attorneys for the couple. Michael B. Fox of Olive Hill was appointed to represent Ali Jabak and Andy Markelonis was appointed as lead attorney for Liberty Jabak.
KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.
