An Army Soldier became the target of a CID investigation regarding the pay and allowances he was receiving. The Soldier was claiming San Francisco BAH for his spouse while he was stationed in Korea. His spouse had never resided in San Francisco and the address he provided to DFAS was an abandoned lot.
Mr. Bilecki’s law firm was retained to try the case after he was charged with Article 121 (larceny – BAH fraud), UCMJ, and Article 107 x 6 (false official statement), UCMJ at a General Courts Martial. The Government initially offered a deal to cap confinement at 121 days, which we rejected. At trial, the members found our client guilty of all charges and specifications and sentenced him to 60 days confinement, reduction to E-1, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and a BCD.
Ultimately, the strategy here was to “litigate to mitigate” and it was effective. The sentence given by the panel was less than he would have received if he entered into the guilty plea.