Former Executive Director of Charity Sentenced to 21 Months In Prison for Stealing Over $1 Million From Employer and Laundering Over $220,000 of Proceeds

            WASHINGTON – Byron Fogan, 43, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison on a federal charge stemming from the embezzlement of over $1 million from a private charitable foundation where he worked as executive director, announced U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips, Thomas Jankowski, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

            Fogan, of Columbia, Md., pled guilty in November 2015 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of money laundering involving the laundering of approximately $220,000 of the proceeds of the embezzlement scheme. He was sentenced on Feb. 19, 2016, by the Honorable Judge Rosemary M. Collyer. Following his prison sentence, Fogan will be placed on three years of supervised release. He also must pay $223,568 in restitution to the charitable foundation as well as a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $223,568.

            According to a statement of offense submitted at the plea hearing, Fogan was the executive director of the Oasis Foundation, a private charitable foundation located in the District of Columbia. The Board of Directors of the Oasis Foundation was comprised of Fogan, a professor, and a priest. The Oasis Foundation’s purpose was to make financial donations to various non-profit and charitable organizations that worked in educational development, innovation in science and technology, the promotion of arts and culture, developing families and strong communities, and the promotion of environmental awareness and protection.

            Fogan enjoyed exclusive access to, and control of, the Oasis Foundation’s finances, including all bank accounts. From on or about Jan. 1, 2011, to at least May 31, 2013, Fogan illegally obtained in excess of $1 million from the Oasis Foundation.  Oasis Foundation accounts were replenished as Fogan continued to spend down the balances in each account.

            Fogan spent at least $1 million of the illegally obtained funds at casinos. Spending the funds in such fashion was contrary to the purpose and mission of the organization. The Board was unaware of such spending, and would not have approved of it. Fogan continued in the unlawful spending of these funds until he was caught by law enforcement.

            Of the numerous illegal transactions Fogan conducted, seven were for amounts in excess of $10,000, which comprise the money laundering charge. These seven transactions totaled $223,568.

            During this time period, the defendant made some legitimate expenditures related to the Oasis Foundation, which resulted in the commingling of funds.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Phillips, Special Agent in Charge Jankowski and Assistant Director in Charge Abbate commended the work of those who investigated the case from IRS-CI and FBI. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including former Assistant U.S. Attorney David Johnson, Paralegal Specialist Taryn McLaughlin, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zia Faruqui, Alessandra Stewart, and Maia L. Miller.