"An Oversight Hearing on Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in U.S. Government Contracting in Iraq"

Senate Democratic Policy Committee Hearing - Monday, June 27, 2005

Following is an excerpt from the hearing, where Rory Mayberry, Former KBR Food Production Manager, was asked follow-up questions after his presentation:

QUESTIONS FOR RORY MAYBERRY JUNE 13, 2005 Mr. Mayberry, representatives of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee have provided me with several questions that they would like me to ask you now. Can I begin asking you those questions? Q: Are you saying that Halliburton deliberately falsified the number of meals they prepared, and then submitted false claims for reimbursement, and that they did this to make up for past amounts auditors had disallowed? A: Yes. Q: So, when they couldn’t get reimbursed legitimately, they committed fraud by submitting these false bills? A: Yes. Q: How many meals were served at the dining hall each day? A: 2,500 meals, per meal, times four. There were four meals, breakfast, lunch, dinner and a midnight meal. Q: So, every day, Halliburton was charging for 20,000 meals it never served? A: Correct. They were charging for 20,000 meals, and they were only serving 10,000 meals. Q: Was it rare for expired food to be served to the troops? A: No. It was an everyday occurrence, sometimes every meal. Q: You’ve described routine overcharging and unsanitary practices by Halliburton, as well as shortages of food items for troops because of private Halliburton parties. Halliburton managers were not only aware of these practices, they ordered them, is that correct? A: Correct. Q: How senior were these managers? A: The managers, the main manager was a manager of all of Iraq, assigned by KBR. Q: So these practices may have been ordered at other dining halls in Iraq? A: Most likely, yes. Q: When government auditors arrived, these senior managers deliberately avoided them? A: Yes. Q: And these senior managers ordered you and other employees not to discuss your concerns with the auditors? A: Yes. We were informed if we talked, we would be rotated out to other camps that were under fire. Q: Is it fair to say that the managers used the threat of transfer to a more dangerous base to intimidate employees into keeping quiet? A: Yes. Q: When employees did talk to auditors, what happened? A: All the employees that did talk to the auditors were switched out to other camps or fired because they refused to go to the other camps. Q: Is there anything else you’d like us to know? A: Not at this time. Thank you for your testimony, Mr. Mayberry.