The U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil forfeiture complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California seeking to forfeit a Beverly Hills mansion it alleges was purchased and renovated using approximately USD 30 million in proceeds from a scheme involving fraud against the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), bribery of a Kurdistan Region of Iraq official, and violations of U.S. money laundering laws. According to the complaint, from 2016 through 2020 a Virginia-based defense contractor and others obtained more than USD 700 million from DLA for fuel deliveries supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, with Erbil International Airport serving as a key delivery point. The contractor’s officers allegedly agreed to pay General Mansour Barzani, a senior Peshmerga official, a bribe of USD 0.25 per liter in exchange for exclusive access to deliver jet fuel in Kurdistan, while competitors were blocked and DLA issued one-time-buy contracts to the contractor often at noncompetitive and greatly inflated prices. The complaint further alleges that scheme proceeds were transferred to NYJD Trust No.1 for Barzani’s benefit and that, in 2018, approximately USD 30 million was moved from the trust to purchase the mansion, with renovations and improvements funded from 2019 to 2022. The matter was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and IRS Criminal Investigation. The Justice Department notes that the civil complaint is an allegation and that it bears the burden of establishing the property is subject to forfeiture by a preponderance of the evidence.
U.S. Department of Justice 2026-04-22
U.S. Department of Justice seeks forfeiture of Beverly Hills mansion allegedly bought with USD 30 million from Defense Logistics Agency fuel-contract bribery scheme
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a civil forfeiture complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California seeking to forfeit a Beverly Hills mansion allegedly purchased and renovated with approximately USD 30 million in proceeds from a fraud, bribery, and money laundering scheme involving the Defense Logistics Agency. The complaint alleges that a Virginia-based defense contractor secured more than USD 700 million in inflated fuel contracts for Operation Inherent Resolve by bribing a senior Peshmerga official, with scheme proceeds routed through a trust before being used to acquire and improve the property.