Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Hampton Woman Sentenced for Stealing $300,000 from Ft. Monroe Motor Pool

NEWPORT NEWS, VA—Coleen Newton-White, 36, of Hampton, Va., was sentenced today to 41 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Brian D. Miller, Inspector General, General Services Administration Office of Inspector General; and Alex J. Turner, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; made the announcement following sentencing by the Honorable Mark S. Davis. Newton-White pled guilty on May 4, 2011.

According to court documents Newton-White worked at the motor pool at Ft. Monroe and engaged in the unauthorized use of GSA fleet credit cards. Newton-White gave the credit cards to her ex-husband, Lanaire White, who used them to purchase gas for individuals at lower prices. The credit card bills were paid by the government and amounted to losses in excess of $300,000.00 over a two-year period. Lanaire White belongs to the Moors, a separatist group which does not recognize federal jurisdiction. He was convicted of wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, theft of government property, use of unauthorized access device, and felon in possession of a firearm following a jury trial in June and will be sentenced on September.

In addition to her prison sentence, Newton-White was also ordered to pay $299,015.68 in restitution.

This case was investigated by the Office of the Inspector General, General Services Administration, and the FBI. Assistant United States Attorneys Brian J. Samuels and Howard J. Zlotnick prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

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