Wyatt Sentenced in Oil-for-Food Scandal

Oscar Wyatt, a brash Houston oilman who founded what has since become El Paso Corporation, has been sentenced to one year in prison for his role in the scandal-ridden U.N. oil-for-food program in Iraq. He must also pay more than $11 million restitution.  THE BLOTTER RECOMMENDS Blotter Texas Oil Tycoon: Latest Casualty in Oil-for-Food Scandal Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage. Wyatt was accused of funneling millions of dollars in kickbacks to the regime of Saddam Hussein. Earlier this year, El Paso agreed to pay nearly $8 million to settle civil claims that it helped the former Iraqi regime receive kickbacks. In a prepared statement Wyatt said, "On or about December of 2001, I agreed with others to cause a surcharge payment of 220,000 euros, approximately 200,000 U.S. dollars, to be deposited in a bank account controlled by Iraqi SOMO officials at the Jordanian National Bank. This payment was in violation of the United Nations Oil-for-Food program, because it required that all payments be made directly to the United States escrow account in New York, and no money was to be paid directly to the Iraqi government." Read the U.S. attorney’s release.