2008 Woodie Awards
State Department official convicted in visa-selling case
Issue date: 11/6/06 Section: News Briefs
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A federal jury convicted an American foreign service officer Wednesday on charges of plotting to sell visas at the American Embassy in Lithuania.
Prosecutors had accused Matthew Christ, 41, of Alexandria, Va., of plotting to sell the visas in the Baltic coast country for more than $40,000 and a vintage motorcycle.
Jurors found Christ guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud, and they acquitted him of a single bribery count. A third count was dropped just before the trial began, defense lawyer Steven Molo told the Chicago Tribune.
Nine others also have been convicted in the case, the U.S. attorney's office said. The sale of the visas took place between August 1999 and July 2001 while Christ was posted to the embassy, prosecutors have said.
The charges were brought in U.S. District Court in Chicago because the Lithuanians who were issued the visas landed in the country at O'Hare International Airport.
Christ has been on paid leave from the State Department since he was charged in 2005.
Prosecutors had accused Matthew Christ, 41, of Alexandria, Va., of plotting to sell the visas in the Baltic coast country for more than $40,000 and a vintage motorcycle.
Jurors found Christ guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud, and they acquitted him of a single bribery count. A third count was dropped just before the trial began, defense lawyer Steven Molo told the Chicago Tribune.
Nine others also have been convicted in the case, the U.S. attorney's office said. The sale of the visas took place between August 1999 and July 2001 while Christ was posted to the embassy, prosecutors have said.
The charges were brought in U.S. District Court in Chicago because the Lithuanians who were issued the visas landed in the country at O'Hare International Airport.
Christ has been on paid leave from the State Department since he was charged in 2005.
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