Former ICE employee guilty of fraud

(CBS News) WASHINGTON - On the heels of the government's embarrassing scandal in Las Vegas involving the General Services Administration, or GSA, comes word that a high-ranking Homeland Security official has pleaded guilty in a travel fraud ring that defrauded taxpayers out of at least $600,000.

Forty-eight-year old James Woosley headed Intelligence for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under Homeland Security (DHS). Justice Department officials say that, among other crimes, Woosley faked expense reports for more than a dozen trips, and helped others do the same in exchange for kickbacks. Woosley used $5,000 of the taxpayer's money to buy a boat, and nearly $16,000 for a real estate investment.

Officials say Woosley got help from several ICE employees, including his personal assistant Lateisha Rollerson with whom he developed "a close, personal relationship." The two lived together and often traveled together on business trips. Rollerson pleaded guilty earlier to creating the fraudulent travel vouchers and documents to support Woosley's fake expenses.

Bribes, kickbacks in GSA scandal?

In some instances, other ICE employees stayed at Woosley's Virginia home when travelling to Washington, D.C. on business, then created false hotel receipts. Woosley then took a kickback from their receipts.

Woosley "abused his sensitive position of trust to fleece the government by submitting phony paperwork for and taking kickbacks from subordinates who were also on the take," said U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen, Jr. who helped prosecute the case.

Besides Rollerson and Woosley, three others also plead guilty earlier in the scheme. They include ICE supervisory intelligence research specialist 64-year old Ahmen Adil Abdallat, ICE intelligence research specialist 53-year old William Korn, and ICE contractor 61-year old Stephen Henderson.

Woosley faces 18-27 months in prison and a fine. He has agreed to forfeit the stolen money.

[Me__ME]

Listen, I worked in DHS for years that department is fulfilled with public corruption. The FBI would have to create a separate task force to handle that department. In Undersecretary of Management the security Office was wiping their hard drives, bringing in strippers, paying for prostitutes, and litany of other off the reservation deeds. There is never any consequence.....the DHS IG won't tackle any of senior managers doing these things. If you do get caught the department will cover your tracks for you. The arrange a 600K payoff with taxpayer funds on a false rape allegation and have the a company called DGI pay it off and then give them an inflated contract to offset. Lesson learned from this it is okay to steal because it will take them 5 years to figure it out and when they do slap on the wrist. So ahead and steal.

[ammo17]

i`ll bet you napolitano that lying female will tell congress she was not aware of this black mark on her agency.the downfall of obama,janet napolitano and eric holder.

[wfw3536]

So where is Obama? When he ran in 2008 he said he would change things and clean up Washington, and the government agencies which he said were not run effectively by Bush. Each week we have a new breakdown of this administration and its agencies like a couple weeks ago with the GSA Las Vegas party that cost the taxpayers 800,000 dollars.

[stn_sage]

He's a guy who knows how to MAKE promises...
but NEVER fulfill them!
You're dreaming if you expect him to keep
his word on anything!
Just get use to the waste, fraud, and
abuse stories coming out of 'D.C.',..
he isn't going to change anything!!!

[leotrosky]

really what happen in the world of today in the U.S. employees they lose the something somebody call " moral" not only this administrations are corrupt a immoral but the next don't matter who are the new leader , republican or democrat , all these politic if they want please some kind of immoral people from all species has to bend to their wishes , if they don't do never will get the W.H. in least they has to promise something like Mr Obama that he never will go to do, by the way I am republican ,

[whmozart]

If any of us downloads an "illegal" song we get 2 years of prison and a 50k fine, but this guy ripping taxpayers off by $600000 gets 18 months?! Do we (the victims) even get our money back?
There is something seriously wrong with the system. BS everywhere no matter how you slice it, best way to become a 3rd world country within the next couple of years. It's time for a radical change.

[RandyBRr]

Perhaps it's time for periodic polygraph tests and/or waterboarding for ALL federal employees, congressmen, Senators and aides. That will put a lot of people to work, doing something clearly necessary.

[gbgentleman]

So much for that pesky constitution that insures due process. But what the heck....maybe the rack as well.

[HemiHead66]

Homeland Security, another do-nothing pork-filled agency like the other 15. All a waste of taxpayers money.

[justamaz]

This slap on the wrist is embarassing to this administration. How dishonest do you have to be to receive a serious sentence?

[jhallard]

18 t0 27 months in a federal country club. If it had been someone like me I would have gotten 18 to 27 years. What a crock of feces.

[Ourdoc1]

Woosley worked in federal law enforcement for 28 years, mostly with the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, don't try to blame this on Obama, he was there long before Obama even got into politics. These agencies should NEVER have been all combined into Homeland (Non)security.

[mcw1142]

We can assume the members of Seal Team 6 who took out Osama Bin Laden were there before Obama as well - so by your logic Obama should not get any credit for that, right ? Or does liberal logic dictate that Obama gets credit for everything good but nothing bad ?

[AOCGUY]

mcw, your logic eludes me.