Fraud Charges Dropped Against AF Officer

Air Force O-5 stationed at Ramstein AB, Germany came under investigation by the Munich Customs Investigations Office for Value Added Tax fraud.  The allegations spanned a period of over four years and a total alleged fraud of approximately $25,000.  Based on the German investigation, the officer was also facing charges with the Air Force.  We worked quickly with the client to put together a comprehensive, well-supported package demonstrating that no fraud had occurred.  Following our submission, the Air Force dropped all charges against our client.  Our client was subsequently able to use the package to fight the recoupment efforts made against him by the German government.

Category: Military Success Stories

Air Force Officer Cleared of BAH Fraud

Air Force O-4 was accused of stealing Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) and travel voucher entitlements totaling approximately $40,000. He was also charged with making five (5) false official statements as part of his alleged scheme. The allegations were based on his dependents’ BAH locations during an unaccompanied tour he took to Al Udeid AB, Qatar. Our client received BAH for NY for the entire year, despite the fact that his dependents primarily resided in OH and PA. At his court-martial, our cross-examination of the government’s finance witnesses using little-known provisions of the Joint Federal Travel Regulation established significant doubt/confusion regarding whether our client was entitled to NY BAH or not. Further, we presented significant evidence to demonstrate that our client lacked the specific intent to commit the offenses charged against him. RESULT: The officer panel found our client NOT GUILTY of all charges against him.

Category: Military Success Stories

Air Force SNCO Found Not Guilty of $306,000 BAH Fraud

Air Force E-8 stationed in Hawaii set up dual BAH entitlement for New York. Four years later, the government discovered that her spouse was actually living and working in Hawaii, and had actually joined the Hawaii Air National Guard. DFAS identified her case as “tainted claim,” and began garnishing her wages for $306,000 recoupment. Her case was referred to a General Court-Martial for larceny, where she faced up to 10 years in jail, a Dishonorable Discharge, and the loss of her military retirement. At trial before officer members, JAG Defense highlighted the government’s inability to prove that our client understood the requirements for dual BAH under the Joint Travel Regulation, and presented an affirmative defense of Mistake of Fact. Result: The member panel found our client NOT GUILTY of larceny.

Category: Military Success Stories

Client Able to Retire from Army without Punitive Discharge

Army E-7 with 23 years of service was charged with entitlement fraud spanning two years in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. After a partial acquittal, the Government argued for two years confinement and a Bad Conduct Discharge. The sentence adjudged did not include any jail time or a punitive discharge. RESULT: Our client was able to RETIRE from the U.S. Army. 

Category: Military Success Stories

Air Force E-4 Acquitted of Theft Charges

Air Force E-4 was charged with four specifications of theft of Government property, primarily building materials and tools worth thousands of dollars. In a trial by general court-martial, the accused was acquitted of all thefts, with the exception of three small items. The conviction was ultimately set aside and an Article 15 action substituted, thus salvaging the Senior Airman’s career. 

Category: Military Success Stories

Honorable Retirement for Coast Guard E-6 Charged with Larceny of Military Property

Coast Guard E-6 with over 20 years of military service was charged with 13 different specifications, including allegations of the theft of 29 different items from the Coast Guard. After an exhaustive investigation and extensive negotiations with the Coast Guard, we secured a pre-trial agreement wherein the government DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE 8 of the charges, including 23 of the 29 stolen items. Result: Our client was only reduced one pay-grade and RETIRED from the U.S. Coast Guard. 

Category: Military Success Stories

Coast Guard O-4 Retained After Numerous UCMJ Violations

Coast Guard O-4 was competitively selected to attend a 2-year graduate degree program at a civilian university, fully funded by the Coast Guard. After less than a semester, our Client stopped attending all classes. His failure to attend class continued through the entire Spring semester before he was disenrolled from the program due to his failure to complete the required coursework. During this time, he continued to received full pay and benefits from the Coast Guard. At his subsequent General Court-Martial, our Client pleaded guilty to numerous violations of the UCMJ related to his failure to attend class for almost a year. Based upon our representation during the sentencing proceeding, however, our Client received only 60 days of confinement. More importantly, our client was RETAINED in the Coast Guard, and will continue his 14-year career towards retirement. 

Category: Military Success Stories

Air Force E-5 Acquitted of Larceny Charges

Air Force E-5 performed two successive “Do It Yourself” (DITY) shipments during PCS moves from Hawaii to Florida and Florida to Alabama. In an effort to weigh down her shipment to obtain more money from the government, our client purchased and shipped over 7000 pounds of cat litter. Shortly after arriving in Alabama, our client returned the cat litter for a refund. All together, our client’s DITY moves earned her over $11,000. When confronted by OSI, our client fully admitted her actions, and provided a 9-page written confession. The government charged our client with larceny of military property, and referred the case to a General Court-Martial where she faced 10 years in jail and a Dishonorable Discharge. During a fully contested trial before officer members, we demonstrated that our client was under the mistaken belief that she was permitted to ship such a large amount of cat litter. Further, we challenged whether the Joint Federal Travel Regulations prohibited such a shipment. Result: The officer panel returned with a FULL ACQUITTAL for our client. 

Category: Military Success Stories

Court-Martial Charge Withdrawn and Dismissed for Navy E-6

Navy E-6 was charged with BAH fraud totaling approximately $76,000. Client was pending a General Court-Martial when he retained our services, where he faced the possibility of 10 years of confinement and a Dishonorable Discharge. We were able to convince his command that our client’s receipt of excess BAH was the result of an administrative oversight, rather than any criminal intent. Further, we were able to reduce the overpayment from $76,000 to approximately $8,000. In exchange for restitution from our client for the significantly reduced amount, the command WITHDREW and DISMISSED the court-martial charge against our client, and our client voluntarily separated from the Navy with an HONORABLE characterization of service.

Category: Military Success Stories

Coast Guard E-6 Avoided Federal Conviction

Coast Guard E-6 committed travel voucher fraud resulting in overpayment of approximately $25,000. He was charged with over 10 different violations of the UCMJ, to include false official statement, conspiracy, and larceny, and his case was referred to court-martial. After he retained the services of JAG Defense, we were able to negotiate an alternate disposition for our client. The government agreed to WITHDRAW and DISMISS the majority of the charges, to include the larceny and conspiracy charges. Our client’s punishment was limited to a one-paygrade reduction and a $400 fine. As a result of our negotiations, our client avoided a federal conviction, a criminal record, jail time, and a punitive discharge.

Category: Military Success Stories