Wednesday, February 13, 2013

A Topeka man will spend 30 months in federal prison and has been ordered to pay a fine of over $50,000 for trying to smuggle kickback money into the United States.

51 year-old Donald Garst worked for a U.S. company that was a subcontractor for the Department of Defense at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. The U.S. Attorney's Office says Garst received kickbacks from Afghan companies in order to shift government contracts to Afghan companies.

The incidents occured from 2009 to 2011. Garst pleaded guilty on Nov. 9, 2012, to a one-count information charging him with bulk cash smuggling.