Six former employees of a US government contractor were indicted last Wednesday for their role in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud involving a government contract to recruit linguists to Afghanistan, the US Department of Justice reported. The linguists were to provide language services in Dari and Pashto to the US military, including interacting with Afghan civilians and military forces.
The six defendants knowingly recruited linguists who lacked the minimum language proficiency in Dari or Pashto, according to the department. They also arranged for other individuals with stronger language skills to fraudulently impersonate the unqualified candidates during oral proficiency interviews, which were tests independently conducted by another government contractor to ensure candidates met minimum standards.
In addition, defendants themselves sometimes impersonated candidates during interviews, according to the department.
The defendants received a base salary plus a series of incentive-based bonuses determined by how far through a multi-step vetting process a recruited candidate progressed.
“As alleged in the indictment, the defendants exploited the trust placed in them by the US military and recruited unqualified linguists to be deployed to Afghanistan,” said Raj Parekh, acting US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “We are committed to holding accountable those who undermine the integrity of the procurement process and potentially jeopardize the United States’ mission overseas.”
The defendants were employed as linguist recruiters for a government subcontractor.
According to the department, those indicted are Mezghan N. Anwari, 41, of Centerville, Virginia; Abdul Q. Latifi, 45, of Irvine, California; Mahjoba Raofi, 47, of San Diego, California; Laila Anwari, 54, of Fredericksburg, Virginia; Rafi M. Anwari, 54, of Centerville, Virginia; and Zarghona Alizai, 48, of Annandale, Virginia.