Not Guilty Pleas Entered In UNSCAM Prosecutions

The pleas were entered by David B. Chalmers Jr., sole shareholder of Houston-based Bayoil (USA) Inc., and oil trader Ludmil Dionissiev, a Bulgarian citizen and permanent U.S. resident, during a brief proceeding in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

Chalmers and Dionissiev were arrested Thursday at their Houston homes as federal authorities in Manhattan accused them of cheating the United Nations of at least $100 million that should have gone for humanitarian aid to Iraqis.

The men were charged along with a British citizen, John Irving. Prosecutors said they would seek Irving's extradition from England.

Convictions on the charges could put each of the men behind bars for up to 62 years and subject to fines of up to $1 million.

Instead of fines, I would be interested in restitution fund set up to handle monies recovered so that the Iraqi people can be compensated for their losses incurred during the time OFF handled the funds.