Army Reservist Allegedly Swindles Millions from Military
| U.S. Attorney’s Office June 20, 2012 |
ORLANDO—United States Attorney Robert E. O’Neill announces the filing of an information charging Sebastian Stewart Oyegun, II (32, Orlando) with theft of government property. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The information also notifies Oyegun that the United States intends to forfeit three cars, $170,000 in U.S. currency, and several bank accounts, which are alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offense. The information also notifies Oyegun that the United States is seeking a money judgment in the amount of $10,205,304.05, which represents the proceeds obtained as a result of the theft of government property.
According to the information, while employed as a chief warrant officer in the United States Army Active Guard Reserve, Oyegun made more than $10 million in unauthorized purchases of high-end engineering equipment, computer equipment, and power tools. These purchases were charged to the United States Army. They were made over the Internet using the General Services Administration (GSA) Advantage System and were shipped to various addresses throughout the United States. Oyegun allegedly manipulated the purchasing system by fraudulently creating a phony user identification and password, providing bogus points of contact and fake approving officials, and adding multiple shipping addresses. The unauthorized purchases were made from September 2009 through September 2011. The items were shipped to San Antonio, Texas; Orlando, Florida; and Sanford, Florida. The theft was discovered after an internal audit conducted by the United States Army revealed that Oyegun had used an accounting code from a unit to which he was previously assigned in order to make the online purchases.
An information is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Army Criminal Investigative Command, Office of Inspector General for the General Services Administration, and the Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel W. Eckhart.