Man pleads guilty to selling Army oil

WASHINGTON, July 27 (UPI) -- A Virginia man pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme to steal millions of dollars' worth of oil from the U.S. army in Iraq, the Justice Department said.

Michel Jamil, 59, of Annandale, Va., pleaded guilty Monday to a charge of conspiracy to steal government property in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., before Judge Claude Hilton, the department said in a news release.

Jamil admitted in March 2007, he and two of his co-conspirators arranged to create fake orders authorizing individuals to draw fuel from the Victory Bulk Fuel Point at Camp Liberty in Iraq, allegedly on behalf of a contractor to the U.S. government. Jamil also admitted he and his co-conspirators used false orders to steal large quantities of fuel from 10 to 15 times from the U.S. Army for sale on the Iraqi black market.

Jamil said he and his co-conspirators stole from the U.S. Army fuel worth approximately $39.6 million, admitting he received from $75,000 to $87,500 in profits.

Lee William Dubois and Robert Young earlier pleaded guilty to participating in the same scheme.

At his Nov. 13 sentencing, Jamil could be sentenced as many as five years in prison and fined the greater of either $250,000 or twice the value gained or lost.