FORMER U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE EMPLOYEE SENTENCED TO 21 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR THEFT OF $104,000 IN U.S. GOVERNMENT FUNDS

WASHINGTON – A former U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) employee was sentenced today to 21 months in prison for theft of $104,000 in U.S. government funds, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Sno H. Rush, 40, of Upper Marlboro, Md., was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to pay restitution of $104,000, and to serve three years of supervised release following her prison term. Rush pleaded guilty on Oct. 12, 2010, to one count of theft of government property.

According to court documents, Rush worked as an administrative officer for the USMS in the District of Columbia Superior Court from October 1998 to November 2008. Rush’s responsibilities included, among other things, handling payroll-related matters for the USMS, authorizing payment to USMS employees and outside entities, drafting and signing U.S. Treasury checks for USMS expenditures, and directing and supervising other USMS employees to draft and sign such checks.

During her guilty plea, Rush admitted that between April 2006 and February 2009, she unlawfully used a USMS credit card for personal expenses totaling approximately $15,000. In addition, Rush admitted creating a fictitious employee in the USMS payroll system and submitting falsified time-and-attendance records for the employee, resulting in fraudulent payments totaling $31,000 between November 2007 and October 2008, which Rush converted to her personal use. Rush also admitted that between June 2007 and November 2008, she caused to be issued $51,000 in U.S. Treasury checks to pay down the balance on a personal credit card, disguising the theft with fraudulent business invoices she created to make the payments appear legitimate. According to the plea agreement, Rush converted an additional $7,000 in U.S. Treasury checks used to pay the balance on another personal credit card. In total, Rush admitted stealing approximately $104,000 in USMS funds.

This case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Eric G. Olshan of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. This case was investigated by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General.