Virginia Man Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Defrauding the U.S. Department of Defense of More Than $450,000

WASHINGTON - A Virginia man was sentenced today to 18 months in prison in connection with a scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Defense of more than $450,000, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride of the Eastern District of Virginia.

Jonathan Feeney Sr., 28, of Woodbridge, Va., was also ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Leonie M. Brinkema to pay restitution of $464,819 to the Department of Defense and $11,604 to BAE Systems Training Services Inc. (BAE). In addition, Judge Brinkema ordered Feeney to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term. Feeney pleaded guilty on July 28, 2010, to a one-count criminal information charging him with using the U.S. mails to execute a scheme involving fraudulent invoices submitted to the Department of Defense through BAE, Feeney’s former employer.

According to court documents, BAE maintained a procurement contract with the Department of Defense 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. Feeney worked as a logistics engineer at BAE and was responsible for purchasing the items needed under the contract.

In his plea, Feeney admitted that he 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 all the while to resell the equipment for personal gain despite billing BAE for the purchases. Feeney’s actions would cause BAE, in turn, to use the mail to bill those purchases to the United States. Between Aug. 6, 2005, and June 30, 2006, Feeney admitted that he made 15 illicit purchases totaling $476,424 in fraudulent charges, of which $464,819 was billed to the U.S. government. Feeney also admitted that he subsequently sold many of the purchases on an Internet auction site for profit.

The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Liam Brennan and Ryan S. Faulconer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The investigation was conducted by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and members of the National Procurement Fraud Task Force (NPFTF).