Fort Wainwright soldier pleads guilty in fuel-theft case

Federal prosecutors say a 36-year-old Fort Wainwright soldier has pleaded guilty to receiving bribes in a plot to steal fuel at a base in Afghanistan.

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Sgt. Sheldon Morgan entered the guilty plea in Fairbanks Friday to a count of conspiring to receive bribes. The Army says Morgan was assigned to Kentucky-based Fort Campbell at the time he was deployed at the Forward Operating Base Fenty between May 2010 and May 2011.

His sentencing is scheduled for October.

Prosecutors say Morgan was an Army specialist when he arranged for an Afghan trucking company translator to steal 5,000 gallons of fuel on two occasions in December 2010. According to prosecutors, the translator promised Morgan $5,000 for each truckload.

Prosecutors say the money was wired to an account outside the U.S. that was opened by Morgan’s wife.

Prosecutors say it’s the eighth guilty plea for similar plots at Fenty between June 2009 and April 2012.

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