A U.S. Navy civil engineer corps officer has been found guilty of accepting bribes in exchange for visa paperwork, enabling unauthorized Afghan nationals to enter the United States.
A federal jury determined that Cmdr. Jeremy Pittman, 53, had issued false letters of recommendation for over 20 Afghans. These individuals aimed to apply for Special Immigrant Visas through the State Department, a program designed to help Afghan allies escape Taliban retribution and relocate to the United States.
Pittman received a flat fee of $500 per false visa document through a broker. Although he had never met the applicants, his letters falsely claimed he had supervised them as translators for the U.S. military and vouched that they posed no security threat to the United States. Additionally, he falsified invoices for the broker, making it appear he was receiving legitimate “family support.”
In a 2018 thank-you email to the broker, Pittman wrote, “I just wish the money would keep coming. Ha. Maybe one day we will get a business started. It would be nice to pay off my debts.”
The jury convicted Pittman of bribery and two related conspiracy charges. He faces a maximum penalty of 45 years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for October 21.