Soldiers Accused of Selling Stolen Equipment

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CN) — Six U.S. soldiers and two others were indicted Wednesday on charges of conspiring to steal sensitive Army equipment, which was later sold on eBay to foreign buyers.

Army Sgt. Michael Barlow, Sgt. Jonathan Wolford, Kyle Heade, Alexander Hollibaugh, Dustin Nelson and Aaron Warner are the Fort Campbell soldiers facing charges of conspiring to steal or receive U.S. Army property and to sell or convey U.S. Army property without authority.

They allegedly stole more than $1 million worth of sensitive equipment — including sniper telescopes, rifle accessories, machine gun parts, grenade launcher sights, helmets, headsets, body armor and medical supplies — from the Clarksville, Tenn., Army base.

John Roberts and Cory Wilson, both of Clarksville, are accused of buying some of the equipment from the soldiers and reselling it on eBay.

Buyers from Russia, China, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Lithuania, Moldova, Malaysia, Romania and Mexico paid for some of the equipment, prosecutors claim.

Roberts and Wilson face the same conspiracy charges as the six soldiers, in addition to wire fraud and violation of the Arms Export Control Act. Wilson is also charged with money laundering.

If convicted, each solider could be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Roberts and Wilson face up to 20 years.

Middle Tennessee U.S. Attorney David Rivera said in a statement that "the actions of the soldiers charged today should in no way stain the honor of the brave men and women who proudly serve in our country's armed forces and selflessly give everything to protect America's freedom."

"To the contrary, we never want to allow the illegal and self-serving actions of a few to cast a shadow on the thousands of military heroes who every day place themselves in harm's way to protect this great nation," Rivera said. "Today we seek both to hold accountable all those who seek to financially profit from the illegal sale of stolen, sensitive and restricted military equipment as well as to thank the U.S. military personnel around the world whose dedication and service safeguards us all."

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