BALTIMORE - A federal grand jury indicted Myron Price, age 45, of Accokeek, Maryland on Thursday, July 12, 2007, for making false claims and a false statement for overtime and travel expenses in connection with his work as a physical scientist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.
According to the nine-count indictment, from January 1998 through December 2004, Price submitted false travel vouchers for his travel to Army installations in the Tidewater Virginia area, claiming mileage from Baltimore to Ft. Lee or Ft. Eustis, Virginia of 320 to 1130 miles, when the actual distance to Ft. Lee is 176 miles and the actual distance to Ft. Eustis, Virginia is 210 miles. Price claimed reimbursement for travel expenses for Saturdays and Sundays when he performed no work, or for days when he was not where his travel voucher claimed he was. For example, on several occasions Price allegedly claimed reimbursement for official travel to Ft. Lee, Virginia and for overtime during the period he claimed to be there, when in fact he was not at Ft. Lee, but was on vacation in Trump Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey; Raleigh, North Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; or in Washington D.C. Price is also alleged to have submitted an expense claim for June 1 to 20, 2003 for travel to Fort Lee, Virginia, when in fact the dates of travel were overstated by 17 days and the mileage claims were also false.
From 1998 through 2004, Price was paid an annual base salary of $53,343 to $72,764. During that time period, he received approximately $168,285 in overtime pay and over $300,690 for travel expenses.
Price faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for each of the eight counts of making a false claim, and for making a false statement. His initial appearance is not yet scheduled.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the Defense Criminal Investigative Service for the investigative work performed in this case. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Joyce McDonald, who is prosecuting the case.