Woman Defrauds Defense Dept Out Of $20M

Contractor Faces Up To 40 Years In Prison For Exploiting Government Automated Payment System

(CBS/AP)  An owner of a defunct company accused of bilking the Defense Department out of more than $20 million, including charging nearly $1 million to ship two 19-cent washers, pleaded guilty Thursday to federal wire fraud and money laundering.

Charlene Corley owned plumbing and hardware equipment supply company C&D Distributors LLC with her sister, Darlene Wooten, who committed suicide last fall, reports CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson.

Corley faces as many as 20 years in prison for each of the counts she pleaded guilty to — conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. In addition, she owes as much as $750,000 in fines, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin McDonald.

The company has repaid the government $4 million, and the government has seized an additional $7 million in cash and other assets, including beach houses and other land, he said.

From 1997 to 2006, Corley and Wooten exploited an automated shipping payment system designed to speed shipments bound for U.S. forces overseas by submitting huge bills to ship inexpensive items, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said among the fraudulent charges were ones for $998,798 to ship two 19-cent lock washers, $492,097 to ship an $11 threaded plug, and $499,569 to ship 10 cotter pins worth $1.99 each.

The investigation revealed the company had sometimes double-billed for supplies and charged even when the government denied its services, said Army Lt. Col. Brian Maka, a Pentagon spokesman. The billing of the washers was one of the most egregious charges, he said.

“A 19-cent lock washer you could put an envelope in the mail and mail it with a 14-cent stamp,” Maka said.

McDonald said the payment system has been changed.

But Winslow Wheeler, of the Center for Defense information, says the case demonstrates just how big of a mess the Pentagon's auditing system still is, reports Attkisson. In the 1980s, Wheeler worked for Congress tracking the scandal where the Pentagon was found paying $400 for a hammer.

“Nobody fixed the fundamental problem. As a matter of fact, it's worse,” said Wheeler.

“Its intent was a good one, and it was to get items directly to the troops wherever they might be as quickly as possible without running into the red tape” of manually approving costs, he said. “This particular contractor bilked the system by taking advantage of the process.”

Corley's lawyer, Greg Harris, said Wooten handled bidding and shipping for the company and was directly responsible for the fraud. Wooten committed suicide in October 2006 after being contacted by authorities about the case, according to prosecutors. Before doing so, she wrote a $4 million check to the Defense Department, McDonald said.

Harris said that over the past five or six years the company submitted more than 10,000 bids to the government and that the federal investigation found between “100 and 125 invoices that were paid and that were associated with this fraud.” Money from the fraud also went into salaries and growing the business, he said.

Harris said his client has been assisting the government in identifying, locating and liquidating assets associated with the fraud. Corley is free on a $250,000 unsecured bond. Her sentencing date has not been set, Harris said.

The Defense Department is now investigating cases of fraudulent charges by other contractors, Maka said, although he could not specify how many.

“We're going to do whatever it takes to retake the money that's stolen from us,” he said.

[gmond]

"%u201CA 19-cent lock washer you could put an envelope in the mail and mail it with a 14-cent stamp,%u201D Maka said."

They still don''t know how much shipping costs.

[jayholiday-2009]

this is the reason why people that really need funds,can''t get them.here I am a 54 year of with SICKLE-CELL ANEMIA, That has a foot ULCER, and I can''t even get a $20.00 food stamp!!!!!

[sjc_1]

There are many more examples and I hope some group puts them all together and lets the American people know. It is the environment that is created from the top that sets the stage for all of this to happen. Reagan did it with the "government is the problem" phrase. It was open season on ripping everyone off and scorning law with Iran Contra. Bush has made it known that he only cares about a few things and the rest forget about. In that way he is similar to Reagan, in secrecy he is more like Nixon. But the stage is still set for corruption, none the less.

There was the story of Randy "Duke" Cunningham, a representative from North San Diego county and retired military officer taking bribes for rigging military contracts. They said that Randy had an "out sized ego", which meant that he felt entitled to the perks of his position. He was paid by a little known company that just came into existence called MZM. MZM bought him a mansion and a yacht and a Rolls Royce. All they wanted in return was a $50 million dollar Pentagon contract every year to do essentially nothing. This is what the Republican traitorous greed mongers do to this country. Randy Cunningham should not be able to receive his military nor Congressional pension. But guess what, he still gets BOTH of those.

[mickgabe]

YOU KNOW

Presently I am Encouraging all Young American Men & Women to emigrate to anyplace of your choice " Not only for You ............but...........Your Children" Where the BS American Dream is not a reality...........as it is........here! Ha
Free Health Care.Education.Retirement and all the good things in Life..............AS YOU WON''T FIND HERE IN THE LAND OF THE ..........free????

An ExPatriot............

[lars008-2009]

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace--but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! March 23, 1775 Patrick Henry

USA''s PLEDGE 2 THE WORLD GIVEN BY JFK!!

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty." - John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, Jan. 20, 1961

"Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." - John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, Jan. 20, 1961

One ought never to turn one''s back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Winston Churchill

"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." Albert Einstein

Edmund Burke: All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing.

[kennergirl]

Well this story beats the $400 hammer story!

[lars008-2009]

it is fascist nazi terrorislam stupid...

non muslims of the world unite... fight against the tyranny of the fascist nazi terrorslam imperialist empire of the darkside...

I was a fanatic...I know their thinking, says former radical Islamist
By blaming the Government for our actions, those who pushed this "Blair''''''''''''''''s bombs" line did our propaganda work for us.
More important, they also helped to draw away any critical examination from the real engine of our violence: Islamic theology.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=465570&in_page_id=1770

Bless the Beasts and Children
Fascist nazi terrorslam kills every man woman and child in the village again%u2026 typical mo for terrorslam%u2026
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/bless-the-beasts-and-children.htm

Our Prophet commanded us to fight the kaafirs when we are able and to attack them in their homelands and to give them three choices before we enter their lands: either they become Muslim and be like us, sharing our rights and duties; or they pay the jizyah (poll tax) and feel themselves subdued; or they fight, in which case their wealth, women, children and homes become permissible as booty for the Muslims.
http://islamqa.com/index.php?ref=13759&ln=eng&txt=before%20islam%20arabia%20pagan

[rhs648]

No wonder Bush gets such enthusiastic backing from certain faithful GOP corporate contributors-- after all, the living is easy, and nobody''''s workin''''. This theft of public monies makes Bush and his mendacious cronies into major white collar thieves. While their mentality leaves them petty criminals, their thefts are massive.

Posted by alphaa10

Sounds like none of this graft, greed, and corruption existed under democratic presidents. Believe that and I have a bridge to sell you.

[my2centss]

Why do you get more time for defrauding the government than you do for the elderly, molesting children, rape, murder, running companies into the ground, stealing retirements, and etc...

[samrensho]

I''m surprised more cases like this have not come to light. There must be thousands given the way the government mismanages the "war on tear". She must be a democrat and hence attracted Alberto''s scrutiny.

[oakishpines]

if the christians simply must have to conquer the cherokee today, then tomorrow it will be the navajo, or the baptists, or someone else, if there is one opponent, then there are infinite opponents and the end result is the disappearance of christians

there are seven billion folk and so seven billion companies

if each must ultimate murge into one company fits all, then the business plan of the one is no more well than the business plan of the many and will ultimately fail

there must be one ''light bulb'' or ''miracle'' of a business plan that really does fit all

but congresses busy stamping out the competition that is busy stamping out the competition, are destined to be stamped out whether they win or lose, for their business plan is faulty with a terminal loop error


to dance get well feed world songs rallied around the sick beds drifting tens millions spore bloom weed dragon trail fickle first aid lunch farm cottage studio trail groups and porno get scik tax world song, or to dance but non-porno get sick feed worlt songs?

[figuy30]

Gao is asleep and apathy abounds. Congrats to the patriotic men and women being paid to look out for America. With enough rhetoric from presidential hopefuls, and shallowness of minds from voters perhaps our future will be filled with more of the same. The new generation of Americans are our only hope. The previous have been a big let down.

[alphaa10-2009]

Corporate welfare programs easily account for billions in federal contractor "overruns", duplication and waste-- all this, with no mention of criminality or blatant corruption, at all.

The thinking from Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, etc., is this-- why make a public spectacle of handouts of taxpayer ddllars to the corporate giants which contribute to Bush campaigns, when these handouts can be sanitized as "business as usual"?

Under Rumsfeld, for example, the corporate welfare aspect assured Boeing it could make a buck from renting air tankers to the USAF, instead of merely selling the tankers. The resultant "efficiency" was such a smelly scandal, the program never took flight, but it came close.

Halliburton, however, got away with much more. Big H got billions for Iraq for which it never was forced to account. Halliburton also left massive Iraq "reconstruction" projects simply unfinished, without returning the money it was paid to complete them.

No wonder Bush gets such enthusiastic backing from certain faithful GOP corporate contributors-- after all, the living is easy, and nobody''s workin''. This theft of public monies makes Bush and his mendacious cronies into major white collar thieves. While their mentality leaves them petty criminals, their thefts are massive.

[lars008-2009]

NONE OF US IS FREE UNLESS ALL ARE FREE!!!

WHY IS IT NOT ONE MUSLIM COUNTRY GRANTS EQUAL RIGHTS TO NON MUSLIMS???

FASCIST NAZI TERRORISLAM SAYS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATES ISLAM LAW...

Universal Declaration of Human Rights
http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

For example, in 1981, the Iranian representative to the United Nations, Said Rajaie-Khorassani, articulated the position of his country regarding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by saying that the UDHR was "a secular understanding of the Judeo-Christian tradition", which could not be implemented by Muslims without trespassing the Islamic law.

http://www.un.org/terrorism/
http://www.un.org/terrorism/strategy-counter-terrorism.html
http://www.un.org/

But the accepted assumption in India is that most of India''s Muslims were converted to Islam through the sword. Meaning the Indians were given an option between death or adopting Islam. The third option was getting examined in Islam religion along with heavy taxes- Jeziya (poll tax) and Kharaj (property tax).

http://adaniel.tripod.com/Islam.htm

this is what fascist nazi islam calls peace....

are you ready to live under islam rule as a non muslim???

apartheid fascist nazi islamic style

Rights of Non-Muslims in an Islamic State
http://www.sullivan-county.com/id3/islamic_state.htm

[lars008-2009]

Is islam a violation of international law???

islam practices slavery on non muslims
islam practices apartheid on non muslims
islam practices rape on non muslims
islam practices rape on babies and animals
islam practices genocide on non muslims

all are violations of international law and are crimes against humanity

Universal Declaration of Human Rights
http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/22/world/main2505445.shtml
Imam Khomeini - Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution
http://www.homa.org/Details.asp?ContentID=2137352826&TOCID=2083225445
Malaysia women ''suffer apartheid''
The daughter of Malaysia''s former prime minister has launched a scathing attack on the roles and status of Muslim women in the country.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4784784.stm
A matter of tolerance
http://musingwithmarinamahathir.blogspot.com/2006/12/matter-of-tolerance.html
Marina Mahathir
http://musingwithmarinamahathir.blogspot.com/
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=slavery+islam&btnG=Search
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4795808.stm
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=apartheid islam
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=rape islam
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=rape islam babies&btnG=Search
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=genocide islam&btnG=Search

[lars008-2009]

what do you call an ideology that:

kills you if you don''t join it...

http://islamqa.com/index.php?ref=82201&ln=eng&txt=islam%20law%20kill%20kaafir

kills you if you leave it...

http://islamqa.com/index.php?ref=696&ln=eng&txt=kaafir%20kill

kills you if you don''t do what they tell you to do..

http://islamqa.com/index.php?ref=6035&ln=eng&txt=kaafir%20kill

kills you if you speak against it%u2026.

http://islamqa.com/index.php?QR=22809&ln=eng

kills anybody that is not a member of it...

http://www.hauns.com/~DCQu4E5g/koran5.html

still practices slavery

http://islamqa.com/index.php?ref=12562&ln=eng&txt=slavery

still practices pagan rituals...

http://answering-islam.org/Silas/pagansources.htm

allows the r a p e of babies and animals...

http://www.homa.org/default.asp?TOCID=2083225445

a. satanic cult???
b. islam???
c. all the above???

Our Prophet commanded us to fight the kaafirs when we are able and to attack them in their homelands and to give them three choices before we enter their lands: either they become Muslim and be like us, sharing our rights and duties; or they pay the jizyah (poll tax) and feel themselves subdued; or they fight, in which case their wealth, women, children and homes become permissible as booty for the Muslims.
http://islamqa.com/index.php?ref=13759&ln=eng&txt=before%20islam%20arabia%20pagan

[brianbwb-2009]

Posted by lars008,

So, been yij hier, ook, vuile snee?

Now the implication is that government corruption is OK, as long as the government is killing Muslims?

Time to move on, dude, your Muslim ex boyfriend has gone straight, get over it. Try converting to Buddhism.

[lars008-2009]

it is fascist nazi terrorislam stupid...

non muslims of the world unite... fight against the tyranny of the fascist nazi terrorslam imperialist empire of the darkside...

I was a fanatic...I know their thinking, says former radical Islamist
By blaming the Government for our actions, those who pushed this "Blair''''s bombs" line did our propaganda work for us.
More important, they also helped to draw away any critical examination from the real engine of our violence: Islamic theology.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=465570&in_page_id=1770

Bless the Beasts and Children
Fascist nazi terrorslam kills every man woman and child in the village again%u2026 typical mo for terrorslam%u2026
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/bless-the-beasts-and-children.htm

Our Prophet commanded us to fight the kaafirs when we are able and to attack them in their homelands and to give them three choices before we enter their lands: either they become Muslim and be like us, sharing our rights and duties; or they pay the jizyah (poll tax) and feel themselves subdued; or they fight, in which case their wealth, women, children and homes become permissible as booty for the Muslims.
http://islamqa.com/index.php?ref=13759&ln=eng&txt=before%20islam%20arabia%20pagan

[abdalhazred]

I have to disagree with Cere51... this kind of corruption goes on all the time in the private sector. Why do you think they''re in such a hurry to get rid of Sarbanes-Oxley?

[galaxiana]

Something stinks here (besides the obvious, of course.) You''ve got a sister who writes a $4 million check, and then offs herself? *** her sister/business partner in the process?

No, it''s more likely that someone from a certain government 3-letter agency put a gun to the woman''s head, forced her to write the check (probably for all the money the company had) and then snuffed her out, making it look like a suicide.

I mean really, why would this woman screw her sister just because she didn''t want to face the music herself? Does that sound right to you? Cave in to the government by writing the check, and then killing yourself? Something''s wrong here...