Philip Bloom is an American businessman who pleaded guilty on April 18, 2006 to conspiracy, bribery and

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

in connection with a scheme to defraud the

Coalition Provisional Authority The Coalition Provisional Authority (; , CPA) was a Provisional government, transitional government of Iraq established following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, invasion of the country on 19 March 2003 by Multi-National Force – Iraq, U.S.-led Co ...

– South Central Region (CPA-SC) during the

occupation of Iraq Occupation of Iraq or Iraq occupation may refer to: * Occupation of Iraq (2003–2011) (occupation by American, British and Italian forces) * Mandatory Iraq (Iraq under British Administration, 1921–1932) * Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014) ...

.Contractor Pleads Guilty In Case Involving Bribery, Fraud And Money Laundering Scheme In Al-Hillah, Iraq
''

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

'', April 18, 2006 According to the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'' Bloom used CPA funds to pay out over $2 million USD in bribes, in cash, real estate, designer cars, watches, and the services of prostitutes he brought to Bagdad. Bloom accepted at least $1 million in bribes and stole a further $600,000 in cash and goods from CPA funds. At the time the charges were laid this case was described as the first instance of many cases of fraud involving US officials. Bloom was accused of bribing Lieutenant Colonel Bruce D. Hopfengardner, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Brian Wheeler, Lieutenant Colonel Debra Harrison and a CPA Comptroller and convicted

felon A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that ...

named Robert Stein Jr.. Bloom admitted paying Stein and the others more than $2 million in money and gifts in return for them using their official positions to award contracts to Bloom and his companies. Bloom, Stein, and the others also facilitated numerous wire transfers of money that were the proceeds of the fraudulently awarded bids and at least $2 million in stolen money from the CPA, in order to conceal the source and origin of the funds. All of the funds that paid for Bloom's contracts were from the

Development Fund for Iraq In May 2003, following the invasion of Iraq in March of that year, the Central Bank of Iraq-Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) account was created at the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of New York at the request of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) ...

—Iraqi oil money, administered on behalf of the Iraqi people, by the United States, during the American occupation. These funds were supposed to be under strict financial controls, overseen by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. A total of $8.6 million in rigged contracts was identified during the trial. Bloom's Romanian partners have denied all knowledge of his

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

activities.Philip Bloom arrested in Iraq reconstruction deals scandal
''

Bucharest Daily News ''Bucharest Daily News'' is an English-language online newspaper operating out of the Romanian capital city, Bucharest. At first it was launched as a printed newspaper and was frequently cited as a source by the sudden influx of Romanian news a ...

'', December 16, 2005 A summary of the Bloom/Stein conspiracy was published by the

Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction The Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) (October 2004–October 2013) was created as the successor to the Coalition Provisional Authority Office of Inspector General (CPA-IG). SIGIR was an independent governmen ...

as an appendix to is October 30, 2006 Quarterly Report to the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

.A Summary of the Bloom/ Stein Conspiracy
, ''Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction'', October 30, 2006 On February 16, 2007, Bloom was fined $3.6 million, ordered to pay a further $3.6 million in restitution and sentenced to 46 months in jail with probation following his sentence as part of a deal for cooperating with the investigation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloom, Philip Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Coalition Provisional Authority 21st-century American businesspeople American white-collar criminals American people convicted of fraud American businesspeople convicted of crimes