By SDCN Editor
A California woman pleaded guilty to devising a multi-year scheme to defraud the U.S. government by submitting fake invoices for supplies never purchased and converting the stolen funds for her personal use.
According to court documents, Zelene Charles, 42, of Monterey, a then-civilian employee of the Department of Defense, at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, perpetrated a scheme to defraud the U.S. government by creating fake purchase requests and invoices for government purchases from both fictitious and legitimate business entities. The items listed in these invoices were never purchased or received by the government. Between December 2016 and April 2020, Charles placed approximately 185 fraudulent charges, causing a total loss to the government of $624,250. To conceal that she was the recipient of the stolen funds, Charles frequently renamed the business names associated with intermediary accounts and, in total, used at least 78 different account names.
Charles pleaded guilty to wire fraud and theft of government money and property. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the wire fraud charge and 10 years in prison for the theft charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Charles also agreed to pay $624,500 in restitution and forfeit numerous stolen government computers and tablets as part of her plea.
