Francesca Maria Daniele, age 49, of La Plata. (Booking photo)GREENBELT, Md. (May 25, 2016)—U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Francesca Maria Daniele, age 49, of La Plata, Maryland, today to 21 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for wire fraud in connection with the misuse of her government credit card. Judge Chuang also ordered Daniele to forfeit and pay restitution of $22,338.67, the amount of loss resulting from her conduct.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department's Criminal Division; and Elton Malone, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Special Investigations Branch.
In July 2014, Daniele worked at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), purchasing equipment from vendors and administering contracts on behalf of NIH. According to her plea agreement, from July 12 to 28, 2014, Daniele used her government credit card to fraudulently make approximately $21,830.19 of personal purchases at retail stores. She used her cell phone to call the credit card's customer service center to approve those purchases. To conceal the scheme, Daniele falsely reported that her credit card had been lost.
Additionally, on October 15, 2014, Daniele opened a credit card account in the name of her minor child. She used the credit card to buy a laptop computer, video game console, a ring and other items, all of which were shipped to a hotel room she rented under an assumed name. Daniele did not pay for several of the items, resulting in a loss to the credit card company of approximately $508.48.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the HHS-OIG for its work in the investigation, and thanked Assistant United States Attorney Thomas P. Windom and Trial Attorney Justin D. Weitz of the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section, who prosecuted the case.
RELATED INFORMATION:
La Plata Woman Pleads Guilty to Federal Wire Fraud, October 28, 2015
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