Wichita Maintenance Technician Pleads Guilty to Stealing Equipment from Employers

WICHITA, KS—A Wichita maintenance technician has pleaded guilty to making more than $150,000 from selling equipment he stole from the companies where he worked, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

Mark A. Lankford, 45, Wichita, Kansas, pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Wichita to two counts of wire fraud. In his plea, he admitted stealing equipment from two Wichita companies where he worked, Spirit Aerosystems and Fiber Glass Systems LP.

Lankford was employed as an equipment maintenance technician for Spirit Aerosystems in Wichita from October 2010 to September 5, 2011. During that time, he stole computer parts from Spirit with a total value of more than $466,559. He used e-mail to offer stolen parts for sale mainly to individuals in Owing Mills, Maryland. On April 25, 2011, he offered for sale an Allen Bradley model 1785-LT programmable controller, an Allen Bradley model 1771-DLC, an Allen Bradley model 1772-LXP, an Allen Bradley model 1772-TB2, and a Siemens model 6FC5303-OAB20-1AAO, all stolen from Spirit. Law enforcement officers recovered items worth approximately $454,435, leaving a remaining loss of more than $12,123.

From March 2008 to October 2010, Lankford worked as a maintenance mechanic for Fiber Glass Systems in Wichita. He stole computer parts from the company with a total value of more than $41,268. He offered stolen parts for sale on eBay including an Allen Bradley Controllogix Processor 7 slot system stolen from the company.

Lankford obtained a total of more than $154,824 from selling stolen parts.

Sentencing is set for February 24. He faces a maximum penalty 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count.

Grissom commended the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart for their work on the case.