theft | The Contracting Education Academy

March 10, 2021 By cs

Former Air Force contractor pleads guilty to illegally taking 2,500 pages of classified information

A former contractor with the U.S. Air Force recently pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio to illegally taking approximately 2,500 pages of classified documents.

Isaak Vincent Kemp was charged on Jan. 25, 2021, by a Bill of Information. Originally, law enforcement discovered classified documents which contained approximately 2,500 pages of material classified at the Secret level, while executing a search warrant at Kemp’s home on May 25, 2019.

According to court documents, Kemp was employed as a contractor at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) from July 2016 to May 2019, and later as a contractor at the U.S. Air Force National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC). While working at AFRL and NASIC – both located on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Fairborn, Ohio – Kemp had Top Secret security clearance.

Despite having training on various occasions on how to safeguard classified material, Kemp took 112 classified documents and retained them at his home.

Unauthorized removal or retention of classified documents is a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison. Congress sets the maximum statutory sentence. Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-air-force-contractor-pleads-guilty-illegally-taking-2500-pages-classified-information

February 14, 2019 By AMK

Former COR sentenced to 5 years in prison for conspiracy and bribery

Jerry T. Vertefeuille of Niceville, Florida was sentenced on Feb. 12th to 60 months in prison. Co-defendant Christopher A. Carter of Fort Walton Beach, Florida is scheduled to be sentenced on February 15th.

Vertefeuille pleaded guilty to conspiracy (to commit theft of honest services and wire fraud), bribery of a public official, and obtaining and disclosing procurement information.

Vertefeuille was a federal Contracting Officer Representative (COR) for the 96 Test Wing Maintenance Group (96 MXG) at Eglin Air Force Base. His duties included overseeing maintenance work and initially approving purchases and invoices.

In 2007, Vertefeuille helped Carter, as the owner of TCC Services, Unlimited, LLC, win a paint booth maintenance contract, as well as multiple contract renewals. Vertefeuille received kickbacks in exchange for approving Carter’s fraudulent invoices and recommending the renewal of TCC’s contract.

U.S. Attorney Keefe said: “Public corruption is an attack on the rule of law, which is the mission of the Department of Justice and the cornerstone of American government. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, along with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, is committed to upholding the public’s faith in honest services and enforcing high ethical standards.”

“Corruption in the government procurement process damages the public trust and ultimately degrades the warfighting mission of the Department of Defense,” commented Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin with the southeast field office of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS). “DCIS, along with our investigative partners, remains committed to pursuing and bringing to justice anyone who uses fraud and deception to undermine the critical missions of the Department of Defense and the safety of our communities.”

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl/pr/former-government-contracting-officer-representative-sentenced-60-months-prison

August 15, 2018 By AMK

Millions flow to Pentagon’s banned contractors via a back door

Some of the world’s largest companies have benefited from a little-known law that lets the Defense Department override decisions barring contractors accused or convicted of bribery, fraud, theft, and other crimes from doing business with the government.

International Business Machines Corp., Boeing Co., BP Plc, and several other contractors have received special dispensation to fulfill multimillion-dollar government contracts through “compelling reason determinations.” That process allows the Defense Department in rare cases to determine that the need to fulfill certain contracts justifies doing business with companies that have been suspended from government work.

The 22 determinations were released by the General Services Administration at the request of Bloomberg Government, allowing for the first collective examination of the cases and the system that allowed them.

The determinations, also referred to as waivers or overrides, included contracts to provide food services for Defense Department personnel at an Army base in Afghanistan, “vital” web-hosting services for an agency that serves the Pentagon and the U.S. intelligence community, and aviation fuel sold to the Defense Logistics Agency.

Keep reading this article at: https://about.bgov.com/blog/millions-flow-pentagons-banned-contractors-via-back-door/

See further analysis at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/charlestiefer/2018/08/05/study-of-waivers-of-federal-contractor-debarments-leads-to-review-of-major-criminal-charges/#654bac3c6ac3

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

January 16, 2018 By AMK

Former NSA contractor admits to stealing confidential documents

A former National Security Agency contractor at the center of one of several pending leak cases has pleaded guilty to one of 20 counts he faces for removing classified information from the agency and storing those documents in his home for decades.

Harold Martin III, 52, was arrested in August 2016 and later indicted on 20 counts of willful retention of national defense information. According to the indictment, over the course of 23 years working as a contractor for the intelligence community, Martin took documents from the agencies he was working for and kept them in his Maryland home, some of which included top secret and sensitive compartmented information.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2018/01/former-nsa-contractor-admits-stealing-confidential-documents/144956/

Background on this story can be found in this 2016 New York Times article: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/20/us/harold-martin-nsa.html

A former contractor with the U.S. Air Force recently pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio to illegally taking approximately 2,500 pages of classified documents.

Jerry T. Vertefeuille of Niceville, Florida was sentenced on Feb. 12th to 60 months in prison. Co-defendant Christopher A. Carter of Fort Walton Beach, Florida is scheduled to be sentenced on February 15th.

Some of the world’s largest companies have benefited from a little-known law that lets the Defense Department override decisions barring contractors accused or convicted of bribery, fraud, theft, and other crimes from doing business with the government.

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.

A former National Security Agency contractor at the center of one of several pending leak cases has pleaded guilty to one of 20 counts he faces for removing classified information from the agency and storing those documents in his home for decades.

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