GREENBELT, Md. (November 11, 2007) - Matthew Baylor, age 29, of St. Inigoes, Maryland, pleaded guilty on Friday to theft of government property, in a scheme to sell equipment stolen from the Patuxent Naval Air Station on eBay, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.
According to the plea agreement, Baylor was a US government contractor employed with AAI Corporation. He was assigned to the U.S. Navy’s Pioneer Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (“UAV”) program at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station. In October 2005, Patuxent River Air Force personnel discovered that three calibration kits and two verification kits used to calibrate the Pioneer Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (“UAV”) were missing from a locked storage area. Patuxent River personnel learned that one of the missing kits had been purchased by a third party contractor, Global Test Equipment (“GTE”) from an eBay online auction site.
Subsequent investigation revealed that Baylor had sold the three calibration kits and two verification kits on eBay between June and July 2005, using eBay seller accounts that he established. The stolen equipment had an aggregate value in excess of $1000 and a fair market value of between $30,000 and $70,000.
Baylor faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte has scheduled sentencing for January 11, 2008 at 9:30 a.m.