Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding the U.S. Department of Defense of More than $450,000

WASHINGTON, July 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A Virginia man pleaded guilty today to one count of mail fraud for his participation in a scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Defense, announced Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer and U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride of the Eastern District of Virginia.

Jonathan Feeney, 28, of Woodbridge, Va., waived his right to an indictment and pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal information in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Virginia before U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema. The information charges Feeney with using the U.S. mails to execute a scheme involving fraudulent invoices to defraud the U. S. Department of Defense.

According to court documents, BAE Systems Training Services Inc. (BAE) maintained a procurement contract with the Defense Department during 2005 and 2006. Under the terms of the contract, BAE would purchase surveillance equipment and subsequently bill the U.S. government for those purchases. According to court documents, Feeney worked as a logistics engineer at BAE and was responsible for purchasing the items needed under the contract.

According to court documents, Feeney started making secret purchases in BAE's name beginning in August 2005. He admitted that he used his position to authorize the purchase of camera lenses and video equipment, intending to keep the equipment for his personal use but to bill BAE for the purchases. This would in turn cause BAE to use the mail to bill those purchases to the United States. Between Aug. 6, 2005, and June 30, 2006, Feeney admitted he made 15 illicit purchases, totaling $476,424 in fraudulent charges, of which $464,819 was billed to the U.S. government. According to court documents, Feeney subsequently sold many of the purchases on an Internet auction site for profit.

The mail fraud count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater, as well as three years of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 18, 2010, at 2:00 p.m.

The case is being prosecuted by Fraud Section Trial Attorney Liam Brennan and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve A. Linick, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section. The investigation is being conducted by Defense Criminal Investigative Service and members of the National Procurement Fraud Task Force.

Today's charges are an example of the Department of Justice's commitment to protect U.S. taxpayers from procurement fraud through the National Procurement Fraud Task Force. The National Procurement Fraud Initiative, announced in October 2006, is designed to promote the early detection, identification, prevention and prosecution of procurement fraud associated with the increase in contracting activity for national security and other government programs.

SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice