Frederick Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Two Government Contractors of More Than $635,000

ALEXANDRIA, VA—John Spangler, 43, of Frederick, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to mail fraud for a scheme to defraud two government contractors of more than $635,000.

Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee.

Spangler pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud. Spangler faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and fines totaling the greater of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss when he is sentenced on June 6, 2014.

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Spangler admitted that from 2007 to 2012, he defrauded two government contractors out of approximately $635,000 to $735,000 by using his position as an information technology (“IT”) manager for those contractors to funnel funds intended for IT supplies to a shell company run by Spangler. Over the course of the scheme, Spangler created fraudulent documentation for 19 purported purchases of IT supplies from the shell company that he owned. In reality, however, Spangler did not provide the supplies at the agreed-upon prices and instead used the funds for personal expenses. Spangler has agreed to forfeiture and restitution of between $635,843.06 and $735,843.06.

This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan Faulconer and Special Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Ballantyne and Emily Mintz are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.