United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that Brian Eugene Wallace, 41, of Leesville, La., was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Lake Charles, La., to one year in prison, 200 hours of community service, and 3 years of supervised release following confinement, for using and trafficking unauthorized access devices. Government Fuel cards, like debit and credit cards, are access devices as defined by federal law. U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi also ordered Wallace to pay $7,693.15 in restitution to Fort Polk Military Installation.
Wallace and two co-defendants, Beth Ann Linton Cantrell, 41, of Leesville, La., and Robert Gary Holliday, 31, of DeRidder, La., were all charged in May of 2011, with conspiracy to use or traffic unauthorized access devices. According to documents previously filed with the court, Wallace worked as a contract employee dispatcher at the Transportation Motor Pool at Fort Polk. Wallace used his position to gain illegal access to government fuel cards. As government fleet vehicles became inactive due to repairs, Wallace would steal the gas cards associated with those vehicles, take them into his personal possession, and temporarily use those cards to fill up his personal vehicle and vehicles that belonged to friends and family. The defendant acknowledged that he stole approximately 15 gas cards and gave gas cards to Cantrell and Holliday, who both used the cards multiple times to fill up their vehicles. Wallace acknowledged that his illegal activity resulted in $7,693.15 of unauthorized charges; Cantrell's unauthorized charges totaled $3,389.25; and for Holliday, the unauthorized charges totaled $3,587.78.
Holliday pleaded guilty on September 29, 2011, and was sentenced in January of 2012 to three years probation, 50 hours of community service and was ordered to pay $3,587.78 in restitution. Cantrell pleaded guilty on November 10, 2011 and was sentenced in February 2012, to three years probation, 40 hours of community service, and was ordered to pay $3,389.25 in restitution.
The case was investigated by Detectives with Directorate of Emergency Services, Investigations, Fort Polk, and Office of Inspector General, General Services Administration, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Myers P. Namie
