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July 9, 2018 By AMK

Two men face federal charges for their role in stealing government property

U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler has announced that two men are facing federal charges for their role in stealing Humvee vehicles that were meant to be destroyed and sold for scrap.

Richard S. Treloar, 63, St. Louis, Missouri, faces seven counts of conversion of government property and seven counts of false statements; co-defendant Mark W. Collier 52, Bedford, Indiana, faces seven counts of false statements.

“Theft, waste, fraud and abuse of government funds and equipment is never acceptable,” said Minkler. “When it involves stealing from our military, it is a particularly egregious offense and those responsible will be held accountable.”

Treloar owned a St. Louis based company called Treloar Enterprises International, Inc. (TEI) which contracted with the Department of Defense’s Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to demilitarize military vehicles, mostly High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles commonly known as Humvees. The Humvee is a four-wheel drive military light truck capable of being outfitted with armor, ballistic glass and high-powered weapons and is currently being used in the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters.

As part of Treloar’s contract with DLA, his company was responsible for demilitarizing the Humvees which would include eliminating the functional capabilities and inherent design features of vehicles. In many cases, that included the total destruction of the Humvee. When the Humvees were demilitarized, both Treloar and Collier verified in writing that the process had been completed.

From January 2014, through November 2015, TEI took delivery of all Humvees from Naval Support Activity Crane (Crane) which is located in Southern Indiana. To facilitate the contract, TEI opened a facility in nearby Spencer, Indiana, where the purported demilitarization took place. The indictment alleges Treloar converted at least seven fully armored Humvees for his own use and sold or attempted to sell them for his own benefit. The value of the Humvees was over $589,000. Both defendants also certified that each and every Humvee was demilitarized, when in fact they were not.

This case was investigated by DoD’s Office of Inspector General-Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Services, and Defense Logistics Agency’s Office of the Inspector General.

“Today’s indictments demonstrate the commitment of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and its law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of all Department of Defense programs,” said Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin, Southeast Field Office. “DCIS’ efforts in this investigation mitigated further significant loss and waste of taxpayer dollars from this fraudulent scheme.”

“Not only is fraud of this type a serious financial crime, the equipment involved is concerning,” said Mike Wiest, Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Southeast Field Office. “There are no legitimate civilian uses for an armored military vehicle. NCIS will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who siphon resources away from America’s warfighters.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley P. Shepard who is prosecuting this case for the government, said Treloar faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment on each count of conversion of government property and Collier faces up to five years’ imprisonment on each count of false statements.

An indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven otherwise in federal court.

In October 2017, U.S. Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced a Strategic Plan designed to shape and strengthen the District’s response to its most significant public safety challenges. This prosecution demonstrates the Office’s firm commitment to prosecuting complex, large-scale fraud schemes, particularly those that exploit positions of trust.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdin/pr/two-men-face-federal-charges-their-role-stealing-government-property

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: abuse, conversion of government property, DCIS, demilitarize, destruction of property, DLA, DoD, DOJ, fraud, government property, IG, Justice Dept., NCIS, OIG, surplus, theft, waste

August 1, 2017 By AMK

Pentagon fixing problems that let fake federal agency get $1.2 million in military hardware

Officials from the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) told Congress that they have taken several steps to shore up the integrity of a program that distributes surplus military equipment to law enforcement agencies after the Government Accountability Office demonstrated that it was highly susceptible to fraud.

But the assurances were insufficient for at least two senior members of Congress, who say the Defense Department needs to suspend its transfers of “controlled” military equipment until DLA has completely solved the internal control problems GAO identified in a recently-disclosed sting operation.

At issue is one of the two surplus property programs operated by DLA’s Law Enforcement Support Office (LESO). Although the division that deals with state and local law enforcement agencies appears to have more robust safeguards to keep equipment from falling into the wrong hands, GAO showed that it was able to pose as a federal agency that does not exist to get hold of $1.2 million in military gear that’s not available to the general public.

In an audit released last week, the office said its investigators, posing as employees of the fake federal agency, sought and gained approval to participate in the program by corresponding with DLA solely via email. Later, the undercover GAO employees were able to pick up more than 100 pieces of controlled property from DLA warehouses — and in two of the three cases, did so without being asked to show any form of identification.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/defense/2017/07/pentagon-fixing-problems-that-let-fake-federal-agency-get-1-2-million-in-military-hardware/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: Congress, DLA, GAO, HASC, internal control, law enforcement, surplus

June 11, 2013 By AMK

Secret ‘man caves’ found in EPA warehouse

A warehouse maintained by contractors for the Environmental Protection Agency contained secret rooms full of exercise equipment, televisions and couches, according to an internal audit.

EPA’s inspector general found contractors used partitions, screens and piled up boxes to hide the rooms from security cameras in the 70,000 square-foot building located in Landover, Md. The warehouse — used for inventory storage — is owned by the General Services Administration and leased to the EPA for about $750,000 per year.

The EPA has issued a stop work order to Apex Logistics LLC, the responsible contractor, ensuring the company’s workers no longer have access to the site — EPA security officials escorted contractor personnel off the premises on May 17 — and ending all payments on the contract.

Since awarding the contract in May 2007, EPA has paid Apex Logistics about $5.3 million, most of which went to labor costs. Conditions at the facility “raise questions about time charges made by warehouse employees under the contract,” the report said.

“The warehouse contained multiple unauthorized and hidden personal spaces created by and for the workers that included televisions, refrigerators, radios, microwaves, chairs and couches,” the IG report said. “These spaces contained personal items, including photos, pin ups, calendars, clothing, books, magazines and videos.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2013/06/secret-man-caves-found-epa-warehouse/64202/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: abuse, contract management, contractor performance, EPA, fraud, IG, management support service, oversight, responsibility, surplus, waste

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