An Army contractor had his girlfriend hired for a “no-show” job so the couple could take numerous trips at the government’s expense while pretending they were traveling for work, federal prosecutors said.
The man and woman visited Orlando 31 times and vacationed at Walt Disney World during “business hours,” according to prosecutors. They also took trips to other locations, including Clearwater Beach, Florida, and Stafford, Virginia, prosecutors said.
During their travels, they mostly stayed at hotels, lounged by pools and visited Disney parks , according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
The man, who was in charge of the U.S. Army Natick Contracting Division in Massachusetts as a contracting officer, used his “long-standing relationship” with government contractor Evolution Enterprise Inc. to have the woman hired as an assistant to support him, according to prosecutors.
The woman was paid a government salary of $487,658.67 while she did “little to no work” from 2014 through 2018 — and cost the government an extra $75,783 in travel expenses, prosecutors said.
“She played the role of (the man’s) government funded travel companion where they frequented hotel bars and pools,” prosecutors wrote in court documents.
The man is accused of lying about the reason for their travels — and seeking reimbursement for the trips, according to prosecutors, who said the couple was arrested and charged in July 2020.
On Oct. 2, the woman, 53, of Woodsboro, Maryland, was sentenced to six months home confinement after she pleaded guilty in April 2023 to one count of conspiracy, 10 counts of theft of government funds and false declarations, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced in a news release.
The man, of Uxbridge, Massachusetts, was sentenced on Aug. 5 to one year and one day in prison, according to prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and 10 counts of theft of government funds.
Attorneys separately representing the man and woman didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ requests for comment Oct. 3.
“Over a course of nearly four years … (the man) used (Department of Defense) funds to pay for a personal relationship,” prosecutors wrote ahead of the man’s sentence.
They argued that his motivation was “simply selfishness and greed,” court documents show.
As part of the man’s sentence, he was ordered to pay $487,658.87 in restitution, according to prosecutors, who said his prison sentence will be followed by a year of supervised release.
Before the woman was sentenced to home confinement, the government had argued in support of a six-month prison sentence for her, prosecutors said.
In May 2018, she lied to a grand jury about the purported work-related trips, according to prosecutors.
The woman will be ordered to pay restitution “at a later date,” prosecutors said. After she serves six months of home confinement, she will be put on two years of supervised release, according to officials.
Pilates instructor fakes being partially paralyzed and gets $148K in benefits, feds say
Army reservists lied about performing funeral ceremonies — and stole $100,000, feds say
Man felt ‘entitled’ to mom’s benefits after she died — and stole thousands, feds say
Employee steals $400,000 from county, buys lottery tickets, feds say. He gets prison
Local News
