Ex-Air Force Worker Sentenced For Stealing Government Funds

GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A former U.S. Air Force civilian employee has been sentenced to more than a year in prison and another year in home confinement after his guilty plea in a scheme to use his travel credit card to get more than $1 million in cash advances, a federal prosecutor said.

Eddie Ray Johnson, Jr., 60, of Brandywine, Maryland, also was ordered to perform 500 hours of community service, pay a $15,000 fine, forfeit $4,000 seized during a search in November 2019 and pay more than $1.1 million in restitution, said Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, in a news release.

According to his plea agreement, from January 2003 to February 2018, Johnson was a travel coordinator in the Secretary of the Air Force, Office of Legislative Liaison. He admitted that from March 2014 through September 2017, he used his government-issued travel credit card to get more than $1.1 million in cash advances, at least $774,000 of which he diverted to personal use, a news release said.

Johnson also admitted to providing cash to family members, including his spouse, the news release said.

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