Two Former Army Non-Coms Sentenced for Larceny

On June 24, 2010, Chief Warrant Officer Frank A. Bailey was subject to a court-martial, and was sentenced to confinement for 23 months, dismissed from the U.S. Army, and forfeited all pay and allowances.  Bailey signed a pre-plea agreement and pled guilty to the following violations of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice: one count of Article 107 (False Official Statement), twenty-five counts of Article 121 (Larceny), one count of Article 81 (Conspiracy), one count of Article 92 (Failure to Obey Order or Regulation), nine counts of Article 80 (Attempted Larceny), and two counts of Article 134 (Adultery and Fraternization).  Because Bailey signed a pre-plea agreement, he will only serve ten months of confinement as ordered by the military Convening Authority.    

Previously, on May 10, 2010, Sergeant Elizabeth Mendoza signed a plea agreement and pled guilty to one count of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice, Article 107 (False Official Statement); seven counts of Article 121 (Larceny); two counts of the Article 81 (Conspiracy), and one count of Article 92 (Failure to Obey Order or Regulation).  Mendoza was sentenced and received a Bad Conduct Discharge and a reduction in rank.

In January 2008, investigators in the GSA OIG’s Mid-West Regional Office along with the 280th Military Police Detachment, US Army Criminal Investigation Command, Fort Knox, KY, initiated an investigation upon receiving allegations that several soldiers, from the 19th Engineer Battalion, Fort Knox, KY, were ordering items from the GSA Advantage system using the unit's Department of Defense Account Activity Code (DODAAC).

Investigation revealed that Mendoza and Bailey, who were assigned to the unit’s supply section, were using the unit's DODAAC account numbers to purchase numerous government items, including laptop computers, computer hard-drives, and other electronic components from the GSA Advantage system. 

The investigation established that from about August 2006 to September 2008, Bailey and Mendoza had conspired and purchased the items from GSA Advantage, and then had those items shipped to either the unit's address in Kentucky or to the unit's addresses in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the unit was also deployed during the above time frame. 

To date then investigation has identified over $165,000 worth of government property purchases from GSA Advantage which had not been identified in the unit's records or had been physically located within the unit.