April 21, 2015

Four Men Arrested in Scheme to Sell Stolen Material from Fort Carson

DENVER—Four individuals, including two active duty members of the U.S. Army, have been arrested based on Criminal Complaints, charging each with one count of conspiracy to commit theft of government property. If convicted of this crime, each defendant faces not more than five years in federal prison, and up to a $250,000 fine. All four defendants (listed below), are scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Watanabe today, Tuesday, April 21, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. for detention hearings.

Those arrested:

  • Daniel Francis, age 50, of Colorado Springs
  • Staff Sergeant Benjamin Thomas Cardwell, age 41, of Fort Carson
  • Sergeant Johnny Dominic Herrera, age 29, of Fort Carson
  • Todd Crow, age 34, of Colorado Springs

“Dedicated investigative work by a team of federal law enforcement agents led to the identification of a ring of thieves who are alleged to have stolen government property, selling it through a co-conspirator,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh. “The stolen goods covered the gamut, from batteries, to MREs, to sensitive technology, and was mostly sold on eBay. This investigation is ongoing as we seek to track what was taken, where it went, and what was sold, and then follow the money.”

“The FBI and our partners will thoroughly investigate the misappropriation of U.S. government resources,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ravenelle. “Such conduct undermines the intended use of taxpayer dollars, and we encourage anyone who suspects this type of activity to immediately report their information to law enforcement.”

“This is a prime example of our special agents working shoulder to shoulder with unit commanders and our fellow law enforcement agencies to root out crime affecting the U.S. Army and helping to bring those responsible to justice,” said Chris Grey, spokesman for the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command.

“Fort Carson is unable to comment on the specifics of the ongoing investigation. Fort Carson is collaborate fully with all involved agencies,” said Lt. Colonel Armando Hernandez, Fort Carson Spokesperson.

This case was investigated by the FBI, the Army Criminal Investigative Division (CID) and Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), with support from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and the Colorado Springs Police Department.

A Criminal Complaint is a probable cause charging document. Anyone accused of committing a felony violation of federal law has a Constitutional right to be indicted by a grand jury.

The charges contained in the four individual Criminal Complaints are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Beth Gibson.