A former chief financial officer of a Virginia marine products company has agreed to plead guilty for conspiring to rig bids on products purchased by the Navy, Coast Guard and other entities.

Donald Murray was also charged in his role in a conspiracy to embezzle money from his former Clearbrook, Va., employer, according to a press release by the Justice Department.

Murray, who is cooperating with an ongoing investigation, would serve 18 months in prison and pay a $75,000 fine under the plea agreement, which is subject to approval by the U.S. District Court in Norfolk, Va. He is the third executive to plead guilty in the probe. Gerald Thermos and Robert Taylor were the others.

According to the release, Murray and others conspired to fix prices and rig bids on contracts for foam-filled marine fenders, which are used as a cushion between ships and fixed structures such as docks and buoys, which are used as channel markers.

Defense Department civilian pleads guilty to fraudA former Defense Department civilian pleaded guilty to siphoning off department funds for himself and others after returning from his deployment to Iraq.

According to a Justice Department press release, Jesse D. Lane Jr., formerly of the 223rd Finance Detachment, California Army National Guard, faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for conspiracy, 20 years in prison for honest services wire fraud and three years of supervised release,

According to the release, Lane and his co-conspirators were deployed to Iraq and Kuwait from March 2004 to February 2005. While there, Lane managed payroll for other guardsmen.

After returning to California, Lane tapped into DOD accounts and stole thousands of dollars for himself and his co-conspirators: Jennifer Anjakos of Chula Vista, Calif.; Lomeli Chavez of Oceanside, Calif.; and Derryl Hollier and Luis Lopez of Los Angeles.

The co-conspirators had each previously pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

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