An Army major from Alabama charged with smuggling cash worth more than $100,000 in dollars and Iraqi dinars had indicated in federal court papers he will plead guilty next month.
Maj. Charles E. Sublett, 46, was indicted earlier this year after a box containing the currency was seized in January 2005 in Memphis by Customs and Border Protection officers. The indictment does not say why it took five years to charge Sublett.
A status hearing scheduled for Friday before U.S. Dist. Court Judge Samuel Mays Jr. has been reset for a change-of-plea hearing on July 7. Terms of the plea have not been released.
Sublett, who is free on bond, was an officer at Logistical Support Area Anaconda near Balad, Iraq, where his duties included soliciting and evaluating bids by Department of Defense contractors providing goods and supplies to the Army.
According to a federal indictment, Sublett sent a FedEx package from Balad, Iraq, intended for Killeen, Texas, that included $107,000 in sequentially numbered one-hundred dollar bills and more than 17 million Iraqi dinars, then valued at about $11,600.
The air waybill and invoice on the package identified the contents only as books, papers, a jewelry box and clothes with a total value of $140.
Under federal law, anyone sending more than $10,000 into or out of the United States must declare the shipment with customs.
Sublett, who lives in Redstone Arsenal, Ala., was indicted on charges of bulk cash smuggling and making false statements on shipping documents to smuggle cash.
The charges carry up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Federal authorities also are seeking to claim the cash in forfeiture proceedings.