[JURIST] A former US contractor working for the US Department of Defense [official website] in Iraq received a nine-year prison sentence [DOJ press release] Monday and was told he must forfeit the $3.6 million he received for awarding contracts to construction companies owned by an American businessman and through money laundering. Robert Stein, Jr. [Wikipedia profile], who worked as the comptroller and funding officer for the Coalition Provisional Authority [official website] during 2003 and 2004, pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to charges of conspiracy, money laundering and bribery last year. He admitted to conspiring with US Army officers [JURIST report] to steal over $2 million in rebuilding funds and awarding contracts to construction companies owned by Philip Bloom [Wikipedia profile; JURIST report] in exchange for more than $1 million in cash and goods.

Stein will also serve three years of probation after his prison sentence ends. Officials from the US Department of Justice [official website] said Stein cooperated with the government's investigation, partially mitigating his sentence, which could have reached up to 30 years. Reuters has more.