Larceny & Financial Fraud
Military Defense Lawyer
At The Bilecki Law Group, we defend service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines facing the full spectrum of larceny and financial fraud charges, from simple barracks larceny to BAH/OHA fraud to international money laundering. If you have been accused of BAH or OHA fraud, theft, mail fraud, bank fraud, theft of government property, the unauthorized sale or possession of government property or any type of computer crime related to fraud or theft, we have the knowledge and experience to aggressively defense you against the government. An experienced military defense attorney at our law firm can represent you whether you are stationed in Hawaii, Japan, Korea or anywhere else in the world.
BAH and OHA Fraud
Recently, we’ve noticed a surge in
Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) and Overseas Housing Allowance (OHA) fraud investigations, audits and prosecutions, including task forces and operations designed to uncover and imprison service members suspected of financial fraud.
As part of this investigative trend, service members receiving BAH in high-cost areas are increasingly audited; Leave and Earning Statements (LES) are compared with other documents and, if discrepancies are found, service members are questioned and likely charged with a financial fraud crime. Typical scenarios take on one of a few patterns:
1.
A service member uses a false location for his or her dependents in order to obtain a higher BAH Rate than allowed. For example, an O-3 living in Korea with dependants in Fort Bragg, NC, would be entitled to $1,527.00 per month in BAH. However, if the officer falsely claimed that his dependents were living in Honolulu, Hawaii, he would receive $2,739.00 per month. During a one year unaccompanied tour, this could add up to nearly $15,000 in unauthorized entitlements.
2.
A service member at Camp Casey, Korea with a wife in the Philippines uses a fraudulent or false lease or rental agreement in order to be paid a higher OHA rate. Overseas, a service member is not paid a fixed amount of money for his housing, but rather the exact rate of his rent (up to a cap). A service member might fabricate a false rental agreement and submit the fictitious amount for reimbursement.
3.
A service member claims he is married when he is not, or fails to inform Finance that he has been divorced. For example, a married E-6 stationed at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, would receive $2,445.00 per month from BAH. If that same E-6 were single, he would only receive $1,917.00 (nearly $500.00 less per month). Over a one-year period, this could lead to an accumulation of nearly $6,000 in unauthorized entitlements.
If one of these situations applies to you or if you have been targeted in an audit, you can expect that law enforcement agents will access and evaluate all of your financial documents, including anything that you signed or submitted to Finance. The agents will likely obtain your lease agreements, bank records, cell phone records, moving documents and other documentation relevant to your case. Even if fraud is the product of an innocent error on your part, law enforcement will do everything possible to prove your intent to steal government funds.
The truth is that not ever case of BAH or OHA case involves criminal action, and often times, overseas financial regulations are so complicated and onerous that a service member makes an honest mistake. Other times, the fraud is obviously intentional. In either case, The Bilecki Law Group has the experience and attention to detail needed to take on all levels of financial fraud. We have successfully represented a vast array of service members charged with larceny, and in certain cases,
have prevented charges from every being preferred. If you are being investigated for or are currently charged with larceny or financial fraud, contact The Bilecki Law Group to discuss all of your options and level the playing field.
Contact a military defense attorney at The Bilecki Law Group, LLLC if you are facing charges of financial fraud or larceny.