Maximum Sentence:
- Dishonorable Discharge
- 55 years confinement
- Total forfeiture
- Reduction to E-1
- Fine
- Federal felony conviction
An Army Staff Sergeant stationed at Camp Humphreys, Korea was charged at a general court martial with nearly $30,000 in fraud for allegedly obtaining Basic Allowance for Housing, Overseas Housing Allowance, and Family Separation Allowance by claiming that her husband was residing in Brooklyn, NY. The government’s case hinged on their assertion that her husband, a third-country national from Trinidad, either did not exist or was not living as claimed.
Based on discrepancies in various financial documents reviewed during an audit, the government and law enforcement conducted an exhaustive investigation into the actual whereabouts of the Soldier’s client’s husband, a third-country national from Trinidad who was neither located nor verified as a legal US (or other) citizen.
The defense, spearheaded by military fraud defense attorney Tim Bilecki, challenged these allegations vigorously. A critical element of the defense was successfully excluding significant portions of the Criminal Investigation Command’s (CID) investigation through strategic legal motions.
The trial, which spanned almost a week, scrutinized the government’s evidence and the CID’s investigation methods. The jury, after considering all the evidence presented, found the Sergeant Not Guilty on the majority of charges. She was convicted only on a portion of the Family Separation Allowance charge. Contrary to the initial maximum sentence of 55 years, she received a significantly reduced sentence of 120 days confinement.
Defending Service Members Globally
Wherever Duty Calls, Our Defense Follows
