SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Feb. 24, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — A U.S. Army Reserve Colonel has been indicted for allegedly scamming the military with a fake second residence.
Reece Dennis Roberts, 53, of Herriman is charged with various federal crimes, including filing a fraudulent claim against the United States, conspiring to defraud the United States, theft of government property, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Utah said in a Friday press release.
“The announcement comes as part of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s ongoing efforts with the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General and U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division to address military pay fraud that occurred during the coronavirus pandemic.”
The former colonel with Utah’s 76th Operational Response Command is accused of defrauding the United States out of more than $60,000 in unearned military pay entitlements, according to a federal grand jury’s Feb. 21 indictment.
“This type of deceit and misconduct is unacceptable for service members at any rank, but it is particularly disheartening when committed by a field grade officer during a national emergency,” said U.S. Attorney for Utah Trina A. Higgins.
“The vast majority of service members in Utah are law-abiding and deserve the utmost appreciation for keeping the people of Utah safe. My office remains committed to working with military officials and other law enforcement partners to prosecute military fraud and corruption.”
According to court documents, Roberts misrepresented his and his family’s primary residence in Utah, fabricated lease and listing documents, and submitted over a dozen false vouchers to military officials from June 2020 through July 2021.
The indictment alleges that, upon receiving orders calling him to active duty at Fort Douglas in Utah, Roberts changed his primary residence to an out-of-state address that neither he nor his family occupied. “In doing so, Roberts claimed entitlement to a family separation allowance, reimbursement for personal lodging expenses, and other entitlements that were not available to local service members.”
As further alleged in the indictment, the defendant duped military officials into paying him $3,700 per month in lodging reimbursements for a house he did not rent or own. “He accomplished this by fabricating a lease agreement and online listing for the fictitious rental, orchestrating sham rent payments, and repeatedly submitting false vouchers to military officials.
“Additionally, Roberts allegedly worked with an unindicted co-conspirator, recruited a third person to receive sham rent payments and return the payments to Roberts’ bank account using Venmo. This allowed Roberts to create fake rent receipts that were submitted to military officials every month for reimbursement.”
