Little Rock Air Force Base embezzlement admitted; ex-staff sergeant tells court he stole $360,000
A former staff sergeant at Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville admitted Wednesday in federal court that he stole $360,951.94 in government funds to buy items that he then sold at a pawn shop for personal profit.
U.S. District Judge Leon Holmes accepted a plea to an embezzlement charge from Gabriel McCormick of Cabot, who admitted using a government purchase card to buy items between May 2011 and June 2015 from Alphapointe, an on-base vendor that sells only to authorized cardholders.
McCormick, who was attached to the 19th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, was authorized to use the card to purchase up to $30,000 a month for items such as aircraft sealant and lubricants, according to his plea agreement. But the items he bought were supposed to be on a list of approved items used only by the squadron.
To buy unapproved items such as flashlights, multitools, high-end batteries and other personal tools, McCormick would send an email to his supervisor listing his planned purchases of approved items, and then would purchase a number of unauthorized items equaling the total on the approved list, the document states.
Read more: http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2017/may/10/air-base-embezzlement-admitted-20170510/