Former Administrative Assistant for the Walter Reed Army Medical Center Pleads Guilty to Theft of Government Property
Former Employee Stole More Than $165,000

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Ronnita Nicole Dunbar, 29, a former Administrative Assistant for the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, has pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal Information charging her with theft of government property, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today. Dunbar faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison, though her sentence under the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines is expected to be in the range of 12 to 18 months of incarceration. Dunbar is scheduled to be sentenced on July 30, 2010.

Dunbar, formerly of Bowie, Maryland, pleaded guilty earlier today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before the Honorable Paul L. Friedman. In connection with the guilty plea, Dunbar admitted that from January 2004 through May 27, 2008, she was employed as an Administrative Assistant and assigned to work pursuant to a government contract at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Department of Surgery, in the District of Columbia.

Dunbar also admitted that while working at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, she was responsible for arranging government-authorized travel for doctors and residents within the Department of Surgery using an on-line travel service called the Defense Travel System. Dunbar admitted that between July 2007 and September 2008, she stole approximately $165,477.27 in cash from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center as a result of creating and processing approximately 22 fictitious travel reservations using the Defense Travel System. Dunbar admitted that she created fictitious travel authorizations purportedly for travel by doctors and residents within the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, changed the Electronic Fund Transfer account number for the payments from the authorized account to an account in her name at a local credit union, and spent the stolen funds on personal expenses. According to the charges, the theft was discovered as a result of an inquiry by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service concerning a large number of open travel reservations within the Department of Surgery after Dunbar left her assignment at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the investigative efforts of agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and of the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command, Walter Reed CID Office. He also recognized the efforts of U.S. Attorney’s Office Paralegal Specialist Sarah Reis and Legal Assistant Jared Forney. Finally, he commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael K. Atkinson, who prosecuted the case.