SAN DIEGO (CN) – A retired Navy lieutenant commander pleaded guilty to federal charges of overcharging the Navy for port services for U.S. ships and using some of the money “to treat Navy officials to lavish dinners, cocktails and entertainment,” federal prosecutors said.

Edmond A. Aruffo, 45, who retired in 2007, is the seventh defendant charged, and the fourth to plead guilty, in what the U.S. Attorney’s Office called an “expanding corruption scandal” involving defense contract Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA).

Aruffo, who became manager of GDMA’s Japan operations in 2009, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States. He faces up to 5 years in prison at his Oct. 3 sentencing.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement that Aruffo, of San Diego, was “part of a massive fraud and bribery scheme that cost the U.S. Navy more than $20 million.”

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Tags: Asia, Japan, Navy, Plea, San Diego, United States, United States Attorney, United States Navy